Evading Destiny
by kat5552
Summary: All of her life, Lucy had been told what to do. Now, she was being forced into a marriage she didn't want to help her father maintain his position as king of the vampires...but being forced into a marriage really isn't Lucy's style...
1. Chapter 1

Evading Destiny

Her ladies oohed and aahed over her as she stood before the full length, tri-fold mirror. She had never felt, or looked, less like herself in her life. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a tight bun, her bangs pinned back to keep them out of her face. A ruffle of black tulle surrounded the bun and made her feel slightly like a bat, especially in combination with the birdcage veil. The dress she was forced into didn't help either…

The full-length mermaid style ball gown was completely black, matching the tulle wrapped in her hair and the veil. The sleeve style was off the shoulder with sheer lace and yet more black tulle coming out from the top of the sleeve. The bodice was a sheer, mesh-type fabric everywhere except her bust, where black lace barely covered her ample chest, and a deep V-line of lace dropped to her belly button, exposing her cleavage and part of her stomach. At her hips, black satin-like fabric wrapped around her thighs, in an almost rose like swirl, until it reached her knees, where the gown suddenly flared out in yet more satin fabric and black and dark gray tulle.

She eyed herself in the mirror while her ladies gushed around her, her gaze taking in the dress in all of its glory and the ring that sat upon her left ring finger; it was as gothic as her dress. The band itself was black tungsten steel and had a square ruby sitting atop it. Surrounding the ruby were smaller rubies and black diamonds. More rubies flanked the largest gem on either side of the band. It was rather gaudy and horrible and Lucy hated it almost as much as she hated the dress she had on.

Everything about her appearance made Lucy want to run away. This was NOT the dress she wanted to wear, her hair was too severe for her liking, the engagement ring she wore upon her hand did not fit her personality at all and she hated her father for backing her into this corner. She did not want to be getting married today. She did not want to be wearing the black monstrosity for the man who would be waiting for her at the end of the aisle. She did not want to be forced into this to maintain her "title", as her father had so aptly put it. She did not want to be oohed and aahed over by women who barely even knew her when her friends had been banned from coming because her father had known they would object.

Lucy sighed silently as one of her ladies finally stepped forward and took her hand in hers. The other woman's hand was clammy and cold, a trait all ghouls possessed. Lucy wished she could roll her eyes at the woman but knew it would most likely get her in trouble with her father.

"Your Highness," she murmured, "You look absolutely stunning. I'm sure your groom will be overjoyed to see you walking down the aisle to him." Lucy nodded absently, her mind miles away from the woman as she contemplated how she had gotten here.

It had been barely four weeks ago when her father had come to her and told her she was getting married. She had ranted and raved at him for hours, screaming at him for thinking he could make her marry someone against her will. Jude had just sat in his chair, stone-faced, and took her anger in stride before he had, surprisingly calmly, told her she would do her duty to him as his heir, as one of the last born females of their race, and as the princess she was. It had taken every ounce of training her father had forced her through after her mother's death to get her to nod stiffly at him and walk out of the room without screaming some more.

She had not even known who her groom was going to be until that morning; some minor lord, Bora something or other… According to her friends, Virgo, Aries, and Aquarius, he was quite the playboy, although unlike their other friend, Loke, he was not also a gentleman about it. Lucy had been infuriated to find out Bora was her intended, but it was the day of the wedding…what could she do?

"Princess?" Lucy startled when she heard a soft, monotone voice ask. She drew herself back from her musings to blink rapidly, realizing that all of her "ladies" had left her and she was now alone in the bridal room with her good friend, Virgo.

"Virgo!" Lucy gasped, reaching forward to embrace her pink-haired friend. "I can't believe you're here! My father would kill you if he saw you here!"

"Princess," Virgo said in that same monotone voice, "do I need to be punished?"

"NO!" Lucy whisper-shouted, reeling back from Virgo's embrace with a horrified expression. "You are the weirdest nymph I have ever met! What kind of fairy asks for punishment all of the time?"

"Technically, Princess, I am not a fairy," Virgo pointed out before she critically eyed Lucy's outfit. "You know, Princess, I would never put you in such an outfit. Your wedding dress should be much more elegant and fit who you are. May I be so bold as to request permission to create your next wedding dress myself?"

Lucy eyed Virgo bemusedly. Her next wedding dress huh? Did Virgo really think Lucy would be getting married again? After all…vampires lived an exceedingly long time.

"Sure," Lucy said with a laugh, "You can absolutely create my next wedding dress."

Virgo's face lit up momentarily with a small smile before it was gone, behind her typical expressionless mask once again, "The others wanted to come see you as well, Princess, but we all agreed it would be too much of a risk." Lucy's smile faltered a little at that; she would love to see all of her friends one more time before she had to face her groom…she didn't want to do this alone.

"I understand," Lucy said with a quiet sigh. "I'm grateful that you were able to come see me at least. I…I didn't want to have to go into this feeling alone and now I don't. I'm so thankful…" Virgo eyed Lucy with understanding in her gaze. The poor blonde had never wanted the life she had been born into and really…it didn't suit her at all. Lucy was expected to be prim and proper at all times, the perfect example of a vampire princess, but she wasn't like that at all. Lucy was outspoken, adventurous, and fun; she wasn't a "proper lady" despite the multitude of trainings and classes her father had made her go through. It was beyond unfair that Jude had backed his daughter into this corner to help stabilize his powerbase…

A knock resounded through the bridal room, causing Lucy and Virgo to both freeze in place, wide eyes staring at the door.

"Your Highness?" a voice called out, the same female ghoul from before. Lucy squirmed where she stood but then stood tall and straight as she answered.

"I'll be out shortly. I just need a moment to catch my breath."

"Alright, Your Highness," the ghoul replied before they heard her steps moving away from the door.

"Do you want me to punish them, Princess?" Virgo asked, the ground beneath them beginning to slightly shift as a rumbling sound met Lucy's sensitive ears. With a sense of growing panic, Lucy fervently shook her head.

"No, no, no!" Lucy said, shaking her hands at Virgo. "I don't even understand how you have such strong powers over the earth when you're a nymph…" she said under her breath but Virgo raised an eyebrow at her anyway.

"I should leave you now, Princess," Virgo stated as she eyed the clock in the room. "You are supposed to be walking down the aisle here shortly…" Lucy looked at her pink-haired friend with unadulterated terror. She wasn't ready yet! She wasn't ready to give up her life to a man she didn't even know, even if it was to help her father. She just…wasn't ready.

"You'll see us again," Virgo said, her monotone voice shaking for once with emotion. "We will see you again, Princess." Unable to hold back a sob, Lucy leaned forward and embraced Virgo, all while being careful not to smudge her ridiculous red lipstick or dark smoky-eye makeup.

"I know," she whispered as Virgo wrapped her arms around her slim waist, a choked sob erupting from her throat. "I will see you all again. We will get to spend time together again. I won't let this marriage stop me."

"You'd better not, Princess," Virgo said with a half smile. If there was anyone, though, that could get what she wanted, Virgo knew that person was Lucy. Lucy would never give up, would never quit, especially when it came to her friends.

"Your Highness!" they both startled and jumped away from one another again when they heard the ghoul return. Virgo gave Lucy a wistful smile as she rushed back to climb up into the air vent she had entered through; she would not be the one to get Lucy in trouble on this day just because she had wanted to see Lucy before she got married.

"I will see you again, Virgo," Lucy whispered as she replaced the vent cover before rushing to open the door for the ghoul. "I'm ready," Lucy said, her voice strong and unwavering as she grabbed the red and black brooch bouquet from the table beside the door. With a nod of her head and a grin, the ghoul ushered Lucy out the door, eager to watch her princess take the next step in her life.

* * *

Jude Heartfilia was standing impatiently in the hallway down the way from Lucy's bridal room. His foot was tapping irritably as he waited on his daughter to finally get done getting ready; although he had seen her ladies leave some time earlier… The ghoul he had hired to attend her had just gone back to the room to check on her, to see if she was ready, and then left again. Jude was beginning to get irritated with his one and only child. The ceremony was set to start any minute and she was taking her sweet time!

It wasn't like Jude really wanted his daughter to be getting married today, to Bora of all people, but he didn't have much choice. His position was slipping; honestly it had been ever since the death of his wife, Layla, some years prior. He was not willing to let his position as the current ruler of the vampires go just because some younger "hot-shot" punks thought they could do better than him. He figured that by having Lucy marry Bora, one of those punks, that all of his problems would be solved. It was rather unfortunate his daughter was infuriated with him, but Jude was sure that after some time Lucy would forgive him and possibly even come to love her new husband. It was her duty as both a Heartfilia and a vampire, after all, to do as he asked.

With a disgruntled sigh, Jude turned his head to see the ghoul back at the bridal room, leading his daughter out. Jude let out a small gasp as he took in the sight of his daughter. She absolutely looked like the vampiric royalty she was in her black wedding dress, dark makeup, and blood red lips. Jude found himself feeling completely unsettled as he stared at her looking him over with a regal expression on her face. But this is what he had trained her for…to be the lady, the princess, she truly was. He found himself feeling oddly nostalgic, somehow angry, and completely unprepared for what was about to happen. Why had he agreed to marry of his only child, again? Was it really just because he thought he couldn't keep his position otherwise?

"Father," Lucy said stiffly once she stood not two feet from him. He inclined his head to her before he held his right arm out for her to grasp. With an inaudible sigh, Lucy stepped forward and wrapped her left hand around his arm, the ruby engagement ring glittering upon her finger in the low light. Together, they stepped forward and began walking down the hallway to the double doors where Lucy would be joining Bora in holy matrimony.

As they approached the double doors hiding the throngs of people waiting to watch her get married, Lucy felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. It was a disconcerting feeling for the vampiress, something she had never really felt before. She was only twenty-three years old, in human standards, for heaven's sake! How could she be getting married? And to someone she barely knew for the rest of their incredibly long lives? Why was her father forcing her into this?

She glanced at Jude from the corner of her eye and noticed the firm line of his mouth and the tension in his jaw. _Is he angry?_ Lucy thought incredulously, her lips parting slightly in surprise. Did he really not want her to get married?

"Daddy…" Lucy whispered as they finally reached the double doors and Jude was about to gesture to the ghoul before them to open the door. Startled, Jude turned to her with an eyebrow raised, dropping his hand back down to his side while the ghoul watched them with interest.

"Lucy?" he asked, feeling even more off balance to hear her call him "Daddy" when she had not called him that since her mother's death.

"Do you…do you really wish this of me?" she started hesitantly, fearfully meeting her father's gaze. This man, this man who was her father, had once looked upon her with nothing but love and joy in his eyes. Ever since her mother's death, though, he had looked at her as though her very existence pained him. She crushed the hurt that threatened to rise up in her when the look in his eyes did not waver.

"You will do your duty to your father and your king," Jude said harshly, rejecting the nostalgic feelings her initial appearance had given him. He had worked too hard and for far too long to give up his position just because his daughter wanted to be an ungrateful bitch. "You will do this and you will provide me with a grandchild to cement our position as the rulers of our kind. You will do this without complaint and you will be happy to do so."

Lucy shook with unrestrained fury as Jude once again gestured to the ghoul to open the doors. Without hesitation, the woman followed his orders before Jude started forward again, practically dragging his reluctant and infuriated daughter with him. As the two entered the grand ballroom, people stood all around them as the bridal march resounded through the room. There were people Lucy had never even met before staring at her with unrestrained greed in their eyes while others tearfully wiped away the dampness accumulating on their cheeks.

In an incensed daze, Lucy began marching down the aisle with her father, even as her eyes roamed over all of the people in attendance. All of these people were here to watch her wed Bora, to cement a new partnership between her family and his, and to hopefully, for her father at least, bolster his wavering grasp as king. None of them knew her. None of them knew her heart or her dreams. None of them had ever taken a moment to even get to know her. If they had, they would all know this was not what she wanted.

She eyed Bora as they reached roughly the halfway mark of the aisle. The man looked quite handsome, she had to admit, albeit grudgingly. He looked utterly bored, though, and barely glanced her way as she walked down the aisle before moving his gaze to other women in the vicinity. Lucy glared at him, utterly disgusted with his behavior. Here it was, their wedding day, and he couldn't even be bothered to _pretend_ that he was interested in her?

Rage like Lucy had never known suddenly flowed through her in that moment with that realization. He wasn't even going to try and be a good, faithful husband, was he? Was he even going to acknowledge her in their marriage? Was he going to try and support her, and by extension her father? Did it matter to him at all that she was giving up her life to be with him, to be a good princess who did as she was told? Did she even matter to him?

Lucy stopped in the middle of the aisle, staring down at the black and red aisle runner as she clutched onto her bouquet with one hand. Her other hand slid from her father's arm to clench into a fist at her side. All she could think in that matter was how dare he? How dare _both_ of them! This was _her_ life, not theirs, and yet here she was letting them dictate what she was to do like she was still a child! She might be a princess, but she was also a vampire, a vampire who had fully grown into her powers several years ago. She was about to start acting like one. Her mother never would have stood for this, and in that moment Lucy realized she wouldn't either.

With a sudden rush of power, Lucy released all of the emotions she had been feeling since finding out she was getting married against her will. Her canines elongated into inch long fangs while her nails sharpened and lengthened. Rolling her shoulders as her power rushed through her, Lucy sighed contentedly as her eyes turned from her normal warm brown to a deep, piercing black and beautiful, black, bat-like wings burst from her back. _Mmm_ , she thought, _it's been far too long since I've fully let go_.

With a toothy grin, Lucy took in the gasps of the people all around her, while her father stared at her, utterly flabbergasted. He had never actually seen her true form, now that she thought about it, and it made her giggle internally to see the shock and awe on his face. In that moment, she knew she must look like her mother at her most powerful, because she heard him whimper a barely audible, "Layla…"

"I'll be taking my leave now," Lucy said with a smirk as she used her wings to launch herself into the air, heading for the ballroom's skylight. It was going to hurt, to crash through the window, but it was so going to be worth it to get away from them, to get away from it all. "I won't be coming back. Have a nice life," she laughed as she thrust first her hands through the glass, shattering it while simultaneously cutting her hands to hell, and then folding her wings in tightly to her body to keep them from getting too injured. When she was fully through the skylight, she unfurled her wings again and took off into the night, ignoring the cuts adorning her body and the tears in her wedding dress.

Freedom…was that what she was feeling as she spiraled up into the air and away from the ridiculously large mansion in the middle of the woods? Was freedom even a feeling? If it wasn't, it should be, because Lucy was certain that was what she was feeling. She flew for what felt like hours before her body was on the brink of exhaustion. With an annoyed sigh, Lucy set down in the middle of the forest, miles and miles away from where she had left her flabbergasted father, groom, and guests. With a bubbly laugh, Lucy let go of her power, feeling drained as her eyes, teeth, and nails returned to normal and her wings folded back into her body, leaving her shoulders bare and smooth once again.

As Lucy laughed about getting away from her terrible situation, and loving every second of it, she realized she had no idea where to go. She had no money, had just very thoroughly cut ties with her father in a very public fashion, and had no idea where she was. This was not…not good.

"Where the hell am I?" Lucy wondered as she turned in a circle, breathing deeply to try and identify the various scents floating through the air. All she smelled was pine, moss, and moist dirt. Nothing really unique to help her identify where she had ended up…but she wasn't about to let that stop her.

With a grumble, she reached down to grip the fabric of her dress where it flared out at her knees. A satisfying sense of rightness entered her as she ripped the fabric all the way around, completely removing the part of her dress that made it a "mermaid". Once that was out of the way, she ripped the fabric on the right side of her dress up to her mid-thigh, hoping that it would allow her better range of motion. That and she had always preferred shorter skirts. Looking behind her, knowing that somewhere back there was the only life she had ever known. Grinning maniacally, despite her less than desirable situation, Lucy knew she had made the right decision for her. For once in her life, she was making her own decisions, the decisions _she_ wanted to make, and it felt amazing.

With no real sense of where the hell she was going, Lucy began walking in a straight line. She was fairly certain no one was pursuing her. If they had been, she would have had a fight on her hands long before now. After a few minutes, Lucy became highly disgruntled at trying to walk in her ridiculous high heels and chucked them off, far into the forest, with a powerful kick. Ignoring the needles and dirt pushing into her feet, she continued her walk despite her exhaustion.

Lucy had been walking for maybe ten minutes when she heard a sound she recognized quite well…the sound of an engine. Her exhaustion suddenly forgotten, she raced forward with all the strength she had left; if she was hearing an engine, that meant there were cars, and if there were cars, there was a highway and she could get a ride to the nearest town or city. Once in the city, she would be able to call Virgo or Aquarius or any of her other friends…

Lucy burst through some foliage onto a deserted highway, and she almost cried in disappointment. She was sure she had heard a car, but she guessed she had not been fast enough. Allowing her disappointment and fatigue to catch up to her, she collapsed on the side of the road with her head in her hands. How had she come so far, finally standing up to her father and doing what she had always wanted to, leave, to fail now? Tears began to make tracks down her face as she sobbed on the side of the road. It just wasn't fair!

"Um…excuse me, miss?" her head snapped up when she heard a voice speaking to her. In her despairing state she had not even heard someone approach her, let alone the car idling not five hundred feet from her. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the handsome stranger's appearance.

The man had a sheepish grin upon his face, one hand rubbing the back of his neck as he stared at her. She could not contain her astonishment at seeing a man, a _man_ , with vibrantly pink, spiky hair. She also couldn't really stop herself from realizing this man was, hands down, the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. And the way he _smelled_ …he was just delicious and Lucy felt her mouth water slightly, thoroughly embarrassing her even though there was no way for him to tell that.

"So I saw you on the side of the road and was wondering if you needed any help…" the man continued, his hand now moving to tug on the white scarf around his neck. "You see there isn't much around here and I couldn't just leave a pretty girl on the side of the road… I mean! I just wanted to see if I could help! You know, be a good Samaritan and all!" he suddenly started shouting, obviously embarrassed now, as he continued off on a tangent about how he wasn't some creep or anything he was just concerned since she seemed to be all alone and stuff.

"My name is Lucy," Lucy said softly as she eyed the pink-haired man before her. Startled, he turned back to her, having turned his face away to hide his red cheeks, before a wide grin took over his face.

"Nice to meet you, Luigi! My name's Natsu!" he cried, reaching forward to grasp her hand in both of his, shaking it enthusiastically.

"My name isn't Luigi!" she hissed, glaring at where his hands clasped hers, "It's Lucy!"

"Oh. Sorry. Well then, Lucy, is there anything I can do to help you? Are you here all alone?" Natsu asked sincerely, finally releasing her hand. Lucy held it to her chest, her heart beating erratically from the contact. How could just one touch send her heart rate skyrocketing and her blood boiling?

"Actually…I could use some help," she admitted quietly. She had no money, no idea where she was, and she desperately needed to eat to replenish the energy she had lost when she had…escaped her own wedding.

"Well I'm willing to help you out!" Natsu said, pumping his fist ecstatically. "That's my car over there. Do you know where you want to go? I could take you there!"

Lucy could not help the laugh that bubbled up in her throat at Natsu's enthusiasm. She had only just met the man, and yet he was willing to help her? He was incredible.

"I'm not actually sure where I am right now," she confessed, "I um…I kind of ran away from a bad situation and now am lost."

"Oh," was all Natsu said at first before he grinned and grabbed her wrist, dragging her towards his car, "Well that's okay! I'll bring you home, where it's safe! I'm sure you'll like it. I live and work with a whole bunch of other people and we call our home Fairy Tail! It's totally awesome there and I think you'll fit right in, Luce!"

Stunned by his sudden change in attitude, Lucy couldn't help but begin to feel excited about the prospect of going to his home. Yes it was totally crazy and yes she had only just met him, but everything about him, everything about this Natsu, screamed _right_ to her. A giddy excitement began to build within her as she made her decision. Everything in her screamed to go with him, to build a new life at this Fairy Tail, possibly even a new life with _him…_ This was the chance of a lifetime; she could just _feel_ it. And she wasn't going to let this opportunity pass her by, no matter how insane it might make her. She was a vampire, after all, which in and of itself was slightly insane… And besides…what was life without a little risk? With a grin to rival his own, she turned her wrist so that she was clasping his hand in hers and nodded excitedly.

"Alright, Natsu!" she said, that same wide grin on her face, "Take me to Fairy Tail!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Yay second story! And yeah I know…more weddings, but I can't help myself! Weddings are fun! Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm going to make this multi-chapter or not…I kind of like where this one ended, so for now I'm going to label it as "complete". I haven't seen too many stories out there where Lucy is a vampire, and certainly not like this, so I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it! As always, I do not own Fairy Tail, although if I did it would be stupendous.


	2. Chapter 2

Evading Destiny Chapter 2

Natsu was nervous, an emotion he had rarely, if ever, felt. He kept glancing from the road to the ridiculously beautiful woman sitting in the passenger's seat beside him. He had seen beautiful women before, Erza, Mirajane, Levy and Juvia, hell even _Cana_ was gorgeous, but this woman…this woman was even more beautiful, and he honestly didn't know what he was doing sitting in his car next to her. He could barely believe his luck that she had agreed to come home with him.

Natsu really wasn't sure, though, what he had been doing since the moment he had seen her sitting on the side of the road in the middle of the night. He had not even stopped to think about what he was doing for a moment; he had just done it. He had executed a U-turn and parked some feet from the girl. Something about her had just called to him…something about this _Lucy_ had made him stop and see if he could help.

Right now, in this moment, Natsu couldn't seem to believe what had happened. He, Natsu Dragneel, a man people considered beyond dense and an idiot, had the single most beautiful woman in the world sitting in the seat beside him, ready to go to Fairy Tail with him. Holy crap he couldn't wait to shove _that_ fact in Gray's face! He could just see the icy bastard's expression when he walked through the doors of their home… It was going to be priceless.

With a triumphant smirk, Natsu turned to look at Lucy once again, only to notice her faraway gaze. Suddenly, he started wondering _why_ she had been sitting, crying, on the side of the road in the middle of the night, as his smirk gave way to a look of concern. She had appeared to be completely alone and desperate, and Natsu had not been able to look away from her or walk away without knowing she was all right. As he looked at her from the corner of his eye, he wondered what had brought her out there in the first place. What could leave a woman like her so upset?

"Hey," Natsu said rather softly, startling Lucy from her ruminations, "So…are you okay? You uh…didn't exactly tell me much about why you're out here in the middle of nowhere."

Lucy bit her lip as Natsu's question registered in her mind while she continued to stare out the window. Absent mindedly, she twirled the horribly gaudy ruby ring on her finger, a gesture Natsu didn't miss and one that caused him to raise an eyebrow.

"What's that?" he asked curiously, gesturing towards her ring. Startled from her automatic reaction, Lucy glanced down at the atrocious piece of jewelry and sighed.

"It's a ring I got from someone," she said quietly, "They didn't know me very well though and I don't plan on keeping it."

"Is that someone the same reason you're dressed like that?" Natsu asked with a toothy grin, waving a hand at her, now, extremely tattered dress. With a high-pitched shriek, Lucy realized her clothes were in literal _tatters_ and exposing even more of her body than it initially had.

"DON'T LOOK!" Lucy yelped as she crossed her legs and tried to cover her bust with her hands.

"Whatcha yelling for!" Natsu responded, jumping slightly in his seat at her sudden outburst. "It's not like you're naked!"

"PERVERT!" Lucy yelled, punching him on his arm as she glared at him, causing him to grimace from the force of the blow. For being such a petite woman, she sure could pack a punch.

"What the hell you weirdo!" Natsu grumbled as he stared at her from the corner of his eye, "I ain't lookin' at nothin'…" Lucy just glared at him as she, very firmly, re-crossed her arms over her breasts. Natsu just rolled his eyes at her antics. It really wasn't like he could see all she had to offer; she was still mostly covered. Although judging by the look of the dress…when she had initially put it on it was pretty revealing anyway.

"I'm not a weirdo!" Lucy huffed indignantly, keeping her limbs crossed in an attempt to preserve her virtue. " _I_ wasn't the one who picked this dress. It was chosen for me."

"How old are you?" Natsu asked with a snort, "You look like you're old enough to pick your own clothes."

Lucy's eye twitched as she stared at Natsu's amused profile. Why had she agreed to go with this guy again? He was so annoying…and hot…and sweet…and genuinely interested in her well being…and dammit she needed to not get side tracked; he was annoying!

"I'm twenty-three, thank you very much! And you don't know my situation so stop judging!" Lucy barked at him before she stuck her tongue out at him, proving her maturity. Natsu just chuckled as he kept on driving, trees flashing past the car.

"I wasn't judging," Natsu said, rolling his eyes again at her. "Just teasing. So you're the same age as I am. Cool!" This time Lucy rolled her eyes at the pink haired man. How he could be so cheerful all of the time kind of threw her, especially when she had not only called him a pervert but also punched him.

"So where is this Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked a few moments later, reaching up to pull the ridiculous tulle out of her bun. Natsu raised an eyebrow at her as she rolled the window down and threw it out of the window with a somewhat vicious smile.

"Magnolia," Natsu said with a wide grin, "It's the best place on earth, I promise! You'll totally love it. There's lots of people there who will like you; I just know it! Especially Levy and Mirajane; they're some of the nicest people there!"

Lucy laughed as she listened to Natsu begin to describe his home and all of the people who worked there and lived there. Apparently, Natsu had his own home in Magnolia, so he did not need to rely on Fairy Tail having an open space in their dormitories. He explained that most of the people at Fairy Tail had their own places to live, but they still came together and spent time with one another and looked for work with one another, like a family. The way he described it, it seemed like Fairy Tail had a "headquarters" of sorts in Magnolia and the people who worked there and lived around it would just congregate there whenever they felt like it. To her, it sounded just like what she had always wanted her family to be like, what her life had not been like since her mother had passed away, and it sounded _amazing_.

"It sounds wonderful," Lucy whispered wistfully, her eyes glittering as she turned to look at Natsu fully. He grinned back at her.

"It is," he said with a nod, "Everyone is really…really like family at Fairy Tail. We do everything for one another. We support one another and take care of each other."

Lucy nodded enthusiastically; her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She wanted that, so, _so_ badly. She had not had a real family in ages, thirteen years in fact… She had a bunch of great friends in Loke, Virgo, Capricorn, Aries, Aquarius, Taurus, Gemini, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Cancer, but there was something about having a _family_ … It appealed to her greatly; it was all she had ever wanted after her mother had died. If she…if she went to Fairy Tail…would they accept her? Treat her the way Natsu said they would? Would they love her and care for her the way she would them?

"I…do you think that…" Lucy started, her voice wavering with her uncertainty, "Would your family…would they let me join?" Natsu slowed down the vehicle, pulling it off the road as he stared at her with wide, astonished eyes. She wanted to…join his family?

"Hell yeah I think they'd let you join!" Natsu practically shouted, turning to face Lucy now that the car was pulled off to the side of the road. "You really want to join?"

"I do!" Lucy said ecstatically, reaching out to clasp Natsu's hands in hers. She gasped as she felt an electric shock run up her arm at his touch. Unsure of what had just happened, she looked up to Natsu, who was staring at her with an equally shocked expression on his face as he stared from their still linked hands to her face. Shaking his head as though to clear it, Natsu looked away from Lucy as she let his hands drop from hers before he grinned.

"Just wait until you meet Happy!" he began to gush, studiously ignoring the blush that had risen not only on Lucy's cheeks, but his own.

"Who's Happy?" Lucy asked, also choosing to ignore the slight blush that tainted both of their cheeks. Hey…if he wasn't going to acknowledge the weird electric feeling, she wasn't going to either. No sense in rocking the boat right?

"Happy's my cat!" Natsu said…well…happily. "He's the best cat ever! He's blue and he has wings!"

"Your cat…has wings?" Lucy asked, completely astonished. She had never heard, or read of, a creature that was a cat, with wings, except for a sphinx. Natsu…he couldn't possibly be implying he owned a _sphinx_ could he?

"Yeah he has wings! Cute white ones! And Lily and Carla have wings too! The hell if any of us at Fairy Tail know what kind of creatures they are, but they're just like regular housecats I guess, except for the wings and the fact they can talk. Gramps say they aren't sphinxes or anything like that since they're so little and both Lily and Carla have larger forms," Natsu completely ignored Lucy's incredulous look as her eyes widened to almost comical proportions. Cats, with wings, the ability to talk, and who also can transform into larger forms, are _just like regular housecats_?!

"You have…three…cats with wings…that can also talk?" she inquired haltingly. She just must not be hearing him right, right? There was no way…

"Well Lily and Carla aren't my cats," Natsu replied with a shrug. "Lily belongs to Metal Face and Carla belongs to Wendy. Although don't let them hear you say they belong to someone else!" Natsu's voice suddenly seemed to crack up an octave as he turned imploring eyes upon her face for a moment, "Lily and Carla don't really…they won't really take kindly to someone saying they belong to someone else like they're possessions." He grinned rather sheepishly at Lucy's raised eyebrow before turning his attention back to the road. Some cars were beginning to pop up here and there as they travelled further and Lucy was beginning to make out lights in the distance. Her heart rate suddenly sped up as she thought about how close they might be to Magnolia, to _Fairy Tail_.

"Is there anything else I should know about Fairy Tail before we get there?" Lucy asked with a smile, even as her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. Natsu turned to her with a curious expression on his face, one eyebrow raised, but Lucy ignored it. She was having a minor meltdown about Fairy Tail and whether or not they would accept her. She knew barely anything about the place besides what Natsu had been telling her, and yet she desperately wanted to join them. Everything he had been telling her, about his cat, his friends, his _family_ , appealed to her and she wanted to discover what Fairy Tail was like on her own. But now she was freaking out about whether or not they would accept her!

"Macao and Wakaba are dirty old men and stay away from them," Natsu said, blushing furiously, while studiously avoiding her suddenly amused gaze. He had very effectively taken her mind off of her panic without even trying.

"Dirty old men, huh?" Lucy said with a chortle, shaking her head in disbelief at Natsu's warning. "Anything else, or rather should I say, anyone else I should be wary of?" Natsu looked at her sly grin from the corner of his eye as he took the off ramp to Magnolia. Only about twenty minutes now before they would be reaching the outskirts of town…a grin appeared on his face as he thought about it. Pretty soon he would be introducing Lucy to everyone in Fairy Tail!

"Gramps is a dirty old man too…" he mumbled as he realized there were a lot of people in Fairy Tail who would appreciate Lucy's…assets. For some reason he was unsure of, he felt like his blood was boiling at the very thought and he gripped the steering wheel tightly between his hands as he grit his teeth. Just the thought of some of the other Fairy Tail men ogling Lucy…

Lucy let out a full-bodied laugh at that as she asked, "Is Fairy Tail a home for perverts?"

"What!" Natsu yelled, tearing his eyes away from the road for a moment to stare disbelievingly at Lucy. "We aren't a bunch of perverts! Well…maybe stupid Gray, but that's only because he strips all the time! And Gramps…and Macao…and Wakaba…probably Cana too but the rest of us are normal I swear!" Lucy couldn't contain her giggles as Natsu continued to name people who might be perverts. When Lucy heard Cana's name, a woman, she couldn't help but laugh harder; most women were pretty secretive about their "perverted-ness" so for Cana to be listed, she must be pretty bad.

"Oi! It's not funny, alright!" Natsu said indignantly. "They're just dirty old men and Cana's a drunk and Gray's just a stupid icy stripper!" Lucy couldn't help but giggle some more at that, smiling at Natsu's somewhat furious expression.

"Okay, okay, I'm done," she gasped, clutching her stomach as a few more giggles shook her. Natsu's piqued state just tickled her. "So when will we be there?" she asked when she was finally done chuckling at Natsu's expense. His expression told her he wasn't nearly as amused as she was, but he answered her question anyway.

"Fifteen minutes until we reach Magnolia, give or take a few depending on traffic," Natsu replied grumpily. Did Lucy seriously think Fairy Tail was a home for perverts? The very thought upset him; Fairy Tail was awesome, not perverted! It wasn't _his_ fault the old guys and Cana and Gray had dirty minds!

"That soon?" Lucy's breath hitched when she heard how close Magnolia was; she bit her lip as she stared out the window. She wasn't ready! What if Fairy Tail didn't like her? What if they didn't accept vampires? Oh gosh…would she actually have to tell them she was a vampire?! Would they figure out she was Princess Lucy Heartfilia of the vampires?! She wasn't even sure she wanted anyone to know she _was_ a vampire, let alone the extent of her position as one! What was she going to do?!

"Hey there," Natsu said, eyeing Lucy warily as he heard her heart start racing again and he noticed her hands trembling in her lap, "What's up?"

"Does," Lucy began, licking her dry lips as she turned her gaze back to Natsu nervously, "Does Fairy Tail accept any…supernatural beings?" Natsu turned incredulous eyes on Lucy momentarily before redirecting his gaze to the road. Was she serious? Did she not realize _he_ was one of those beings? And what about what he had told her about Happy and the other two? _Why_ was her heart racing like that and why would she be asking that question anyway?

"Uh yeah we do," Natsu said as he scratched his head, trying his hardest to figure out exactly what was up with her as he watched the city lights draw ever nearer, "Why?"

"Just want to know what to expect," Lucy lied smoothly as she released the tension she had been building up in herself since she had heard how close they were. So even if they _did_ find out she was a vampire, it wouldn't matter because they accepted people like her! What a relief! "So…could we maybe…stop somewhere before we get there? I would really like to change out of this torn up dress," Lucy said with an elated smile. She wouldn't have to tell anyone what she was unless she wanted to, and they would accept her despite her being a vampire! It was so _good_ to know that! Now if she could just keep her identity as the princess of the ruling house…that would be amazing.

"Sure!" Natsu said brightly as the car started slowing down to accommodate the lower speed limit as the first few buildings of Magnolia started flashing by, "There's this little shop I really like going to that has clothes and stuff for reasonable prices." Lucy smiled at Natsu's concern for her having little money, since it was in fact true at that moment. For a moment, Lucy wondered where she was going to live and how she was going to work, but figured since that was something people found out at Fairy Tail, she would be able to find something.

"Could we stop at a jewelry store first?" Lucy asked, twisting the tungsten steel ring upon her hand, "I have something I need to get rid of before I can go clothes' shopping."

Natsu glared down at the ring upon her hand. He wasn't as dense as his family thought he was; he knew what that ring was supposed to represent. He also knew that Lucy, looking the way she did, had probably run away from a wedding. He figured she was running away from her own wedding (and if she wasn't, he would do something crazy, like tell Gray he loved him). Watching her twist that ring around her finger filled him with a rage the likes of which he had never felt before. Something about seeing a ring someone _else_ had put there just bothered him on some fundamental level. To know she wanted to get rid of it though…that put a very smug, self-satisfied smirk on his face.

"Sure, Luce," he said with that rather vicious sense of satisfaction still flowing through him, "Whatever you want."

* * *

Natsu could not believe how utterly _boring_ the jewelry shop was. Lucy had insisted, after he had stupidly agreed, that she couldn't go to the clothing store until she had some money, despite him having offered to pay for her with his, admittedly, limited funds. There was just nothing to do in a jewelry shop but look at the stupid jewelry and watch Lucy flirt with the owner… Wait… _Lucy was flirting with the owner_! Natsu felt his eye twitch as he watched the two more closely, glaring furiously at the old man whom had his eyes firmly set on Lucy's cleavage rather than the ring he was supposed to be appraising. Natsu held back the growl he wanted to release, but just barely, as he began to listen to their conversation.

"Please, sir," Lucy practically purred at the older gentleman, "I've recently found myself in a bit of a situation and I need to sell this ring…I just know it is more valuable than 75,000 jewel." She batted her eyelashes at the older gentleman as she used her arms to push her breasts closer together, knowing the move would emphasize her cleavage even more in the low cut gown. She knew Bora had not skimped on her ring; her father wouldn't have allowed it. The shop owner was trying to scam her out of her money and she would be damned if she let him.

"I…I may have been mistaken, miss," the man said as he swallowed, hard, at her flirtations. With a shaky glance at Natsu, who now had his unwavering, and rather furious, attention on the shop owner, the man reached out to take Lucy's ring. Once more, with Lucy's sweet stare and Natsu's angry glare upon him, he examined the ring to determine its value. With a rather comical widening of his eyes, he realized that this ring was in fact the real deal, not the fake stuff he had thought the girl was trying to peddle off on him.

When Lucy caught the storeowner's eyes widening, she struggled to hide her triumphant smirk and keep her sweet façade up. She was actually going to get her money's worth for it, she knew. With a true smile now upon her face, she turned to look at Natsu, only to flinch as she saw the dark expression upon his face. He looked furious, and he was glaring at the man holding her ring. What was up with him? Before she could ask, though, the shop owner started talking once more.

"These are genuine rubies!" he gasped as he turned the ring this way and that under the light, "This may be the largest ruby I have ever seen! And you want to _sell_ it to me?" Lucy smiled and nodded at the owner's incredulous expression. Spluttering out a very grateful, "Thank you!" the owner rushed to the back of the shop to get her the 450,000 jewel for the ring while Natsu glared at his back.

Once the owner was gone to collect the money, Lucy whirled on Natsu with an irritated expression and her hands on her hips. He arched an eyebrow at her as he turned in the swivel chair he was currently sitting in to fully face her.

"Stop glaring at him like you're going to attack him any second!" she hissed, keeping her voice low so as not to alert the owner to her chewing out her friend. "He's helping me out and is now giving me a fair price! If you glare at him like that he might just ask us to leave, like the last three store owners!"

Natsu knew if he let the smirk he wanted to give her out that he would be in trouble, so he just shrugged. But really it wasn't his fault the last three owners had kicked them out! If they weren't such disgusting old men who had tried to _touch_ _his Lucy_ , he wouldn't have had to punch them in the face…or set their hair on fire (in an "accident" he was sure Lucy knew was his fault even if she didn't know how).

"Don't mess this up!" Lucy grumbled at him as she plastered a smile back on her face as she heard the owner rushing back to the front of the store. The owner gave her the money with another grateful "Thank you!" before she and Natsu hurried out of the store and back to the car; Natsu because he was glad to _finally_ be done with the jewelry stores and Lucy because she was beyond _done_ wearing the stupid wedding dress.

Once they had finally reached the clothing store, Lucy didn't take long to gather up enough outfits for two weeks in Magnolia, choosing a plethora of short skirts and tight shirts as well as a few pairs of shoes. She was nervous as she brought all of the clothing up to the register, but she wasn't going to let her nerves stop her. She was buying all these clothes on the hope, the prayer, that Fairy Tail would accept her and she would start living here in Magnolia with them…and Natsu.

The poor guy seemed utterly bored as he gazed off into space, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he tapped his fingers upon his arms, but he had been a great sport as Lucy had rushed through the store gathering up the clothes she wanted to wear. He had only complained a few times, but had quickly silenced himself when Lucy had glared at him. Natsu watched Lucy as she paid for all of her clothes, wondering why girls had to have _so many_ outfits. He had like three pairs of pants, all the same color and type, and maybe five shirts that he recycled over and over again once they were washed and that worked just fine for him. He huffed as the shopkeeper bagged up Lucy's clothes and they walked out of the store. He had been beyond done shopping back at the first jewelry store…

"So Fairy Tail isn't far now is it?" Lucy asked as she smoothed down her brand new blue skirt once they were in the car again. Her nerves were beginning to get the best of her as she stared at the bags full of clothes sitting in the backseat. Would they really accept her as she was?

"Yeah," Natsu said with a nonchalant shrug. "It's that building right there," he pointed to a very large building with the words "Fairy Tail" plastered across its front.

Lucy was unable to hide her gasp as she stared at the building while they drove through the gates. It was almost as large as her father's mansion and she found herself highly impressed by it. She gaped at the building as she and Natsu stepped out of the car and made their way to the door. With a huge grin at Lucy's reaction, Natsu turned from her, kicked in the door, and yelled, "I'M HOME!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Heh this was a fun chapter to write. Sorry it took so long to get posted and I hope everyone enjoys it! As always, I do not own Fairy Tail!


	3. Chapter 3

Evading Destiny Chapter 3

Lucy stood, shocked, as Natsu kicked in the door to the building and hollered out that he was home. Did he really just do that? How would everyone react? Did he do this _often_?!

Natsu turned to look at Lucy with a smile, having gained everyone in the building's attention, only to find her just staring at him in horror.

"Why'd you kick in the door?" she hissed at him as she glared. "Isn't that going to make a bad impression that I let you do it?" Natsu was utterly bewildered with the blonde.

"What are you talking about, you weirdo?" Natsu said, scratching his head curiously. "No one cares what you do. Now come on and meet everyone!" and with that, Natsu grabbed Lucy by her upper arm and pulled her fully into the building. People had been walking up to greet Natsu with smiles on their faces, but as Lucy stumbled in, Natsu standing behind her with a huge grin on his face, they stopped and their happy expressions changed to confused ones.

In an attempt to break the ice, Lucy smiled nervously and said, "Hi, everyone! My name is Lucy! It's so great to meet you all!"

The silence seemed to just stretch on as the Fairy Tail members stared the blonde down. Feeling highly uncomfortable that _no one_ did anything after her introduction, she turned back to Natsu with a questioning look, reaching out to grab his hand in a silent plea for help. The silence that had been so deafening and uncomfortable suddenly collapsed as several things happened at once.

"OH MY GOD NATSU BROUGHT A GIRL HOME!" several people around the room shrieked. One, a busty brunette who seemed to be drinking copious amounts of alcohol, quite literally fell off of the table she had been sitting on while another two, older men, one with an impressive mustache and the other with a cigar hanging out of his mouth, just gaped at the Lucy and Natsu. Another, a very small old man, also with an impressive mustache, seemed to have fainted from shock and an irritated looking man with blonde hair and a scar on his face was shaking him in an attempt to wake him up while a woman with long white hair squealed, fainted, and madly started murmuring about beautiful babies with pink hair and brown eyes. Lucy felt herself flushing as she realized just _what_ the white haired girl was muttering about…

"NATSU IS MAN!" a true beast of a man with white hair roared while a woman with light brown hair and glasses sitting beside him hit him with a fan and started hissing at him to stop being an idiot.

"Hi Lucy!" a petite, blue haired girl said as she walked up to greet the pair. A menacing man with long black hair and copious piercings followed behind her with a black cat perched on his shoulder. He was eyeing Lucy in what she thought was an attempt to size her up. She squared her shoulders and looked him boldly in the eye. "I'm Levy!"

Lucy turned back to Levy and smiled, genuinely ecstatic about being greeted so enthusiastically. Levy was the first person to approach Lucy in a friendly manner besides Natsu while the others were all still staring at her.

"You'll like Levy!" Natsu said, smiling at Lucy, "She's a lot like you, I think!"

"Oh my god do you like to read?!" Levy asked excitedly. When Lucy nodded with a large grin on her face, Levy squealed and jumped up and down while clapping her hands. "That's awesome, Lu! Do you mind if I call you Lu?" Levy asked nervously. With a bubbly laugh, Lucy nodded her affirmation. She was sure she had just made her first girl friend at Fairy Tail!

"I'm Gajeel," the pierced man grunted before he gestured to the cat on his shoulder, "And this is Lily."

"Panther Lily is my full name but please call me just Lily," the black cat said in a surprisingly deep voice, crossing his little arms across his chest. Lucy smiled as she told them it was nice to meet the both of them, right before she was barreled over by a blur of blue fur, landing in a heap with the thing cradled to her chest.

"You smell really nice!" the blue thing said to her. Lucy, recovering from being knocked over, stared down at the blue cat in her arms. _It has wings_ , Lucy thought bemusedly as she ran a hand down the small creature's spine. It poked its head up and grinned at her and she saw that it was a cat. This must be the cat Natsu was telling her about!

"Are you Happy?" Lucy asked as she scratched the thing behind its ears. It grinned at her and nodded and she smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Happy!"

"I like her, Natsu! She's squishy and fat!" Happy cried, soaring up to land on Natsu's head. Lucy's eye twitched as she registered Happy had called her fat.

"I'm not fat, you stupid cat!" she yelled, shaking her fist at Happy. Happy wailed that she was going to eat him, and feeling mischievous, she let a hint of fang show in her devious smile. Not that she would _really_ eat the little blue cat; cats weren't really part of her…diet. But it was fun to pretend for half a second and see his eyes widen in horror.

"I TAKE IT BACK, NATSU!" Happy shrieked while an adorable white cat held in a blue haired little girl's arms shook her head in disgust. Lucy's eye twitched as she realized the crowd around them was growing larger with every moment. "MAKE HER GO AWAY!"

"Why you little…" Lucy began, stepping forward to beat the _snot_ out of the stupid flying cat, but Natsu beat her to it.

"Don't be mean, Happy!" he scolded the blue cat, glaring at him, which was quite a feat since Happy was still seated on Natsu's head, "Luce's nice! I like her and I say she's staying!" Lucy felt her heart flutter at that at the same time she heard the same white-haired girl from before shriek something about pet names before passing out again, a blissful smile upon her face, while another white-haired girl, this time with very short hair, patted her face and said, "Oh Mira…" Lucy figured they were probably siblings; the one with short hair looked almost like an exact copy of the one with long hair.

"Natsu I don't think that's your decision," Lucy said quietly, staring nervously around them. For a minute there, it had been kind of easy to forget where they were. It had just been so easy to love on Happy and then his teasing…it all felt so natural to Lucy.

"If anyone of them thinks you're not here to stay they can discuss it with me," Natsu said, his tone very final, as he cracked his knuckles and wrapped an arm around Lucy's waist.

"I'm Wendy," the little girl with blue hair said with a shy smile, effectively ignoring Natsu's comment and the looks the mob around them were sharing. "And this is Carla," she added, lifting the cat in her arms slightly while the thing huffed and turned her face away from Lucy. _Okay…_ Lucy thought at Carla's actions, but smiled at Wendy nonetheless.

"It's nice to meet you, Wendy," Lucy said warmly, reaching out to grasp the girl's proffered hand and shaking it. "It's nice to meet all of you!" the blonde added as she stared around at the people gathered. With Lucy's exclamation, the crowd around them dispersed after people introduced themselves. Lucy discovered that the man with the cigar was named Wakaba, the man with him was Macao, an adorable young boy who looked a lot like Macao was his son Romeo, the woman drinking was Cana, Mira was the one who kept fainting, Laxus was the scarred man with blonde hair, Lisanna was Mira's younger sister and the girl with short white hair, Elfman was Mira and Lisanna's brother and the beast of a man who liked to shout about things being manly, Freed was a green haired gentleman who seemed to wait on Laxus hand and foot, Evergreen was Elfman's companion, the one who kept hitting him, Bickslow was a crazy armored guy who shouted things about Lucy being a cosplayer (whatever that meant…), and Makarov was the short, old man who had initially fainted and apparently was Master of Fairy Tail. He was also the one who approved that Lucy become a member, something she couldn't believe after only a few minutes of knowing these people. And apparently Lucy had not even met all of the members of Fairy Tail. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Lucy escaped the scrutiny of Wakaba and Macao and made her way over to the bar while Natsu began a fight, something he apparently did quite regularly since no one so much as batted an eye at it. Levy followed Lucy, chattering excitedly about how much she was going to love Fairy Tail.

"So Lucy," Mira said with a sweet smile from behind the bar, "How did you and Natsu meet, then?"

Lucy was about to answer when someone crashed into the bar beside her. Startled, she looked to see if the person was injured, only to see much more of the person than she ever would have wanted to. The man who had flown into the bar was someone she had not yet met and must have snuck in while the fight was going on and was quite handsome with his dark hair and eyes, but what Lucy really noticed about him was the fact that he was stark naked. A flush rose on her cheeks as she very quickly averted her eyes as he stood.

"That was a cheap shot, Natsu!" the man yelled, about to go back in the fray, when he noticed Lucy. "Hey. You're new here," he said curiously, eyeing Lucy like she was a fascinating science experiment.

"I'm Lucy," she managed to squeak, keeping her eyes firmly on his. He grinned charmingly at her as he went to extend a hand for her to shake.

"Gray," Mira said with a giggle, "Your clothes."

"Holy shit! When did that happen?" Gray yelled in surprise, looking down at himself like he couldn't believe he was suddenly naked in the middle of Fairy Tail. Lucy's blush deepened as he turned to her and asked if he could borrow her underwear, without an ounce of embarrassment. Before she could do anything more, though, suddenly Natsu was there, smashing his fist into Gray's face and sending him flying back into the fight.

"Don't you be doing anything to Luce, you pervert!" Natsu roared as he jumped back into the brawl with a maniacal grin on his face. Lucy just shook her head, wondering what kind of family she was entering, but finding herself excited to discover it all the same.

Mira giggled again as Lisanna sat down in the spot Gray had been standing in with a smile. Lucy smiled back at Lisanna as the four women, she, Mira, Levy, and Lisanna, began to talk about various books they had read and shopping they liked to do. Lucy already found herself falling in love with the people of Fairy Tail and, when offered, she excitedly told Mira she would love to fully become a member and get a tattoo that showed it. A slight sense of trepidation overtook her heart when Mira came back with a giant stamp, apparently that would give her the tattoo, but she pushed it down and chose the color and placement for the mark without hesitation. Pink, and on her right hand, front and center. Once the mark was on her skin, Lucy stared at it in wonder while the girls around her gushed about how beautiful it was and they couldn't wait to start working with Lucy.

Lucy was just about to turn to show Natsu her new tattoo when a very intimidating looking woman with fiery red hair blocked her line of vision. Lucy gulped as she looked up and met the woman's eyes.

"Who is this?" the newcomer asked with an arched brow as her blue haired companion with a vibrant red tattoo on his face sighed at her rather menacing tone as he stood next to her.

"Erza this is Lucy, Lucy this is Erza," Mira said, introducing the two women with a smile. "Lucy just joined Fairy Tail. Oh and this is Jellal," Mira said with a giggle, gesturing towards the blue haired man, "He and Erza are…"

"That's enough, Mira," Jellal interrupted tiredly, "I'm sure Lucy has other things to worry about besides Erza and myself." Lucy wondered why Jellal had stopped Mira from talking, but from one look at the blush on Erza's face, she figured it out. The two must _like_ each other. She giggled at the thought.

"It's nice to meet you, Lucy. I hope you like being here at Fairy Tail," Erza said solemnly once her cheeks stopped trying to rival the color of her hair, "and that we can become great friends."

"I'm sure I'll love it here! And that would be great, Erza!" Lucy told her with a genuine smile. The red haired maiden then gave Lucy a dazzling smile that made Lucy wonder how it was possible for Fairy Tail to have so many ridiculously gorgeous women. She had to restrain herself from giggling again when she noticed Jellal looking at Erza with an awestruck expression before he schooled his features and excused himself to a far-flung corner of the room, although Lucy noticed he never once took his eyes off Erza.

Erza decided to join the other women who then decided to move to a table instead of the bar so they could all talk. As they did so, another blue haired girl joined them, a woman named Juvia who liked to speak in the third person, Cana, Wendy and Carla also joined them once everyone was seated. In no time at all, they all fell into easy conversation, laughing and enjoying one another's company while Natsu riled up the entire male population and then proceeded to fight every single one of them. Lucy was surprised, though, when Erza finally stood up and put an end to the fight while waving a sword she had apparently summoned _out of nowhere_. She shuddered to think about what kind of supernatural Erza must be and didn't feel ashamed about it, even though she was a vampire.

Natsu, having been thoroughly threatened by Erza to knock his ridiculousness off, went to join Lucy only to find her surrounded by the other women of Fairy Tail. He felt a twinge of jealousy that they were monopolizing the blonde's time and figured he should remedy the situation while Happy flew over to try and monopolize Carla's time. With a trickster's smile upon his face, Natsu plopped down on the bench beside Lucy before wrapping his arms around her and dragging her into his lap, red faced and spluttering about being completely capable of sitting by herself. He decided to ignore her and just wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, trapped her legs between his, and rested his chin on her head before he inhaled deeply. Lucy smelled unlike anyone he had ever met. She smelled like strawberries and chocolate and just an undercurrent of copper, but he figured that was because of what kind of supernatural she was.

Lucy couldn't believe Natsu had just dragged her into his lap without so much as a word and felt her face heating to a level that she was sure would outshine Erza's hair at the smiles on the other women's faces. Was it possible to die of embarrassment? Lucy wasn't sure but she was pretty sure Natsu was going to see if she could… What was the idiot thinking, anyway? Why would he drag her into his lap like this? They just met! Was he always this affectionate?

"So Lucy…" Mira trilled, her tone suggesting she was about to go down a road Lucy _really_ didn't want to explore, before she was interrupted by Gajeel, who had chosen that exact moment to plop down on the bench beside Levy, causing the petite girl to blush at the proximity but smile nonetheless.

"You look about as intimidating as a bunny," Gajeel said with a snicker as he looked Lucy over, "It's no wonder you let Natsu wrap you up like that. Are you even a supernatural?" Lucy felt her blood heating at Gajeel's insinuation. He couldn't possibly be saying she wasn't strong enough to fend off Natsu, was he? Why would he even care? Did they all care if she was a supernatural or not? No one else had brought it up.

Just as she was about to furiously open her mouth and tell Gajeel off, Natsu beat her to it, shooting the dark haired man a ferocious glare.

"Lucy _is_ intimidating! She's a damn vampire, you idiot! Or have you lost your sense of smell, with all that metal in your nose?" Natsu said with a vicious smirk at Gajeel's annoyed expression. Lucy's jaw dropped as she realized that Natsu had announced, to everyone, what kind of supernatural she was, and that she didn't know what anyone else was. Was this it, then? Would they reject her now? She waited with bated breath as she slowly closed her eyes and then opened them again.

"You're a vampire?" Levy asked curiously, tilting her head to the side while elbowing Gajeel in the ribs, hard enough to get him to shut up, "That's awesome! I'm a witch." Levy grinned at Lucy while she let out the breath she had been holding.

"I am a Valkyrie," Erza stated, her head held high as she summoned a sword out of nowhere, again, and began to run a finger over the blade as she eyed Gajeel intimidatingly.

"I'm technically a succubus," Mira said with a wink, "Although I have more forms than typical succubi and I can feed off of any kind of romantic energy." Lucy found herself not at all surprised that Mira was a succubus; it seemed to fit her fainting when she had first entered the guild.

"Changeling," Lisanna said with a smile.

"Juvia is a naiad," Juvia stated proudly, "Juvia controls water like other naiads but Juvia is more powerful than her sister naiads. Juvia's control over water mimics her dear Gray's power over ice and is another reason why she and her dear Gray are meant for one another! Juvia will drown any rivals who try to take her dear Gray from her!" Lucy gulped at Juvia's passionate, and kind of crazy, speech, but refrained from speaking. Hopefully Juvia would never think Lucy was a rival for Gray's affections. Sure the man was handsome, but the whole stripping thing she had been told about…well that was a bit much for Lucy.

"Gajeel, Natsu, Laxus, and I are all dragon shifters," Wendy said shyly. At that Lucy outright gaped. Dragon shifters? Weren't those supposed to be extinct?! Although it did explain Natsu's rather violent tendencies…

"I'm an oracle," Cana slurred, taking a deep drink from the tankard of alcohol in front of her. Lucy was having trouble comprehending all of the information being shared with her, but she figured she would eventually take it all in stride. After all, her friends back home were all legendary supernaturals, so this didn't really surprise her all that much.

Natsu grinned as he listened to his family all tell Lucy what kind of supernaturals they were. He had figured back in the car that Lucy was nervous about everyone finding out she was a vampire, but really he didn't understand it. There was nothing wrong with being a vampire and they didn't have any other vampires among their members, so Lucy was unique and Natsu thought that was awesome. He inhaled deeply again, taking in more of Lucy's intoxicating scent contentedly.

"You guys have quite a range of supernaturals here," Lucy said quietly after everyone who was seated with her told her their specification. She had never met quite so many different kinds of supernaturals outside of her friends back home and she found herself very excited about finding out more about them. She had grown up around vampires and her other friends and thought this was a great opportunity to learn.

"We do," Levy agreed with a wink, "Although we've never had a vampire. You're our first!" Lucy blushed as suddenly all eyes were on her again, especially when Cana blurted out a question about whether or not she really drank blood.

"Um…" Lucy said, unsure of how they would take her answer. She _did_ drink blood; had to if she wanted to stay healthy, but it wasn't the _only_ thing she could eat. She could eat regular food too, but if she didn't have any blood, she would eventually starve herself to death because regular food didn't have the appropriate nutrients. "I can eat real food, too," she muttered, snuggling in closer to Natsu in an attempt to disappear. This only made the dragon shifter smirk, not that Lucy could see, and tighten his grip yet again.

"So you do drink blood?" Erza asked, although, unlike Cana, she seemed truly curious, not morbid.

"Yes," Lucy admitted softly, letting her bangs fall forward to cover her eyes as she suddenly felt ashamed. None of the others before her needed extra sustenance, except maybe Mira, and drinking blood was one of those…things that made people uncomfortable.

"Do you need to drink directly from someone?" Mira asked, her face thoughtful as she placed a finger on her lips, "I don't have to be…involved to get my extra nutrition, I just have to feel other's feelings by being in close proximity. Can you have bagged blood? And does it have to be human or can you drink animal blood?"

"Mira is the bartender here at Fairy Tail," Lisanna whispered conspiratorially to Lucy with a wink. "She's asking, not to make you uncomfortable, but so that she can provide for you."

Lucy couldn't help the stinging sensation she felt behind her eyes. These people not only accepted her, but they wanted to make sure she stayed healthy. It was far more than she ever could have asked for and she was so grateful, even as she refused to let them see her cry.

"Um I do have to drink directly from a source and it does have to be human," Lucy confessed, refusing to let herself feel ashamed for it, though. She was a pureblood vampire; others, who were considered "made" vampires would be safe with bagged blood, but if she wanted to maintain her full strength, she had to drink direct and it had to be human.

"Hm…that may take me a little bit to work out, but I'm sure I'll figure out something!" Mira announced with a smile, even as people around the room began to leave, the sky beginning to lighten minutely. Lucy stifled a yawn even as she felt Natsu stiffen behind her. Curious, she turned to the man questioningly only to see him gritting his jaw.

Natsu couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mira was going to try and find someone for Lucy to feed from? What was wrong with feeding from _him_?

"Luce can feed from me," Natsu said with a growl. He wouldn't let her go without the blood she needed and he most certainly wouldn't let her feed from some random stranger… He shuddered as the thought of her lips on someone else, even for the purpose of feeding, filled him with revulsion. Her lips shouldn't be anywhere _near_ anyone else, _ever_. He felt her gasp and try to turn to him, but he refused to let her go from the cage of his arms. He would do this for her.

The others around the table weren't nearly as surprised at Natsu's proclamation as the vampire in question. They all smiled knowingly while they watched Lucy's eyes droop, even as she fought to turn and look at Natsu fully.

"Natsu," Lucy murmured as she felt her body tiring quickly; she gave up on the whole feeding thing for now, but she knew she would be bringing it up to him again, "I need to go. I'm so tired…"

"Oh sorry, Luce," Natsu said, rubbing his cheek against her hair as she practically collapsed against his chest, "Vampires and sunlight don't really get along, huh?"

"S'not that…" Lucy muttered, turning fully, finally, to bury her face in the crook of his neck and breath in his delicious scent of smoke and burning wood, "Just get…sleepy…" With a colossal yawn, Lucy fell asleep against Natsu's shoulder, her arms wrapped loosely around his neck and her legs draped across his hips. With a smirk, Natsu placed his hands under her thighs and cradled her to him as he stood.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow," Natsu said, waving at his friends as he made his way out of the building, "I've gotta take Luce home now. Come on, Happy!" With an "Aye, sir!" Happy shot off after Natsu, giggling at the sleeping blonde in his best friend's arms while the remaining members of Fairy Tail gaped after them.

"What the hell just happened?" Gray asked no one in particular as he stared, wide-eyed, at the door Natsu and Lucy had just exited, completely oblivious to the fact that Juvia was unabashedly staring at his naked body and drooling.

"Ooo just imagine the babies!" Mira giggled, hearts in her eyes and hands clasped to her chest while Laxus rolled his eyes at the succubus he loved. He could just see the matchmaking plans floating through her hopelessly romantic brain…that new chick, Lucy, wasn't going to know what hit her…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Well this took much longer than I thought it would to get posted…sorry about that. I hope you all enjoy it, though! :) Fairy Tail does not belong to me; it belongs to Hiro Mashima. The only thing I own is the idea behind this story. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Evading Destiny Chapter 4

Natsu had walked off to his car with his blonde and Happy without much thought about where he was going to take Lucy. He and Happy did own a house on the outskirts of Magnolia, but he wasn't sure if it would fit her needs. Lucy had said she would only get sleepy with the sun coming up but she had passed out before she could say anything more. Would the sun hurt her? He didn't know anything about vampires…

Beginning to feel somewhat panicked about what to do with Lucy, who looked dead if he were totally honest with himself, Natsu buckled her into the car and looked at Happy. Happy blinked up at his best friend as he sat comfortably in the blonde girl's lap, snuggling his head under her breasts as he made himself at home.

"Uh Happy," Natsu asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "What do we do with Lucy now?"

"Take her home of course!" Happy said his tone suggesting Natsu was an idiot. Natsu glared for half a second before he spoke again.

"But when we get her there, do we have to make sure the sun doesn't touch her or anything?" Natsu wondered if his cat would know even as he asked the question, but found that it was a completely different blue supernatural who answered.

"The sun won't harm her, Natsu," Jellal said, eyeing the blonde sitting, essentially dead to the world, in Natsu's front seat. Natsu jumped slightly, unaware that Jellal had even approached him and then felt like an idiot. Stupid fallen angel and his ability to make his movements soundless…

"Are you sure?" Natsu prodded in a rather whiny tone. He couldn't help himself though! He just really didn't want his new friend to get hurt and if he could protect her, well he was going to make sure he did his best to do so.

"Yes I'm sure, Natsu," Jellal replied with a roll of his eyes. He had come out to go home, having finally exhausted his reasons for staying in the building, even if it did mean he was closer to Erza, when he had heard Natsu's questions for his cat. It had made Jellal smile to see Natsu so concerned for another person, but he was also pretty certain Natsu didn't understand exactly _why_ he was being so protective of the new vampire in their midst. The blue-haired man wondered how long it would take Natsu to figure out.

"So I can just lay her in my hammock and she'll be okay?"

"Yes, Natsu," Jellal said, already beginning to feel rather exasperated. He understood why Natsu was asking these questions, and he thought it quite chivalrous of the pink haired dragon shifter, but it did get tiresome to answer the same question over and over. Knowing Natsu, Jellal was going to have to answer that same question at least five more times before he could go home.

"Say, Natsu," Happy started, blinking rather blearily up at the man, "Will all three of us fit in your hammock? It's kind of small." Jellal choked on his own saliva at the cat's question, even as he saw Natsu thoughtfully considering it.

"You can't sleep with her!" Jellal cried as he watched Natsu's look turn from thoughtful to calculating, and then rather mischievous. "It's improper!"

"Well where else am I going to sleep if I don't sleep in the hammock with her?" Natsu asked with a whine, gesturing towards the vampire in question.

"On the floor!"

"But the floor's hard and cold!"

Jellal's eye twitched in agitation even as he felt a tingling sensation in his shoulders, where he hid his wings from the world, and then felt even more agitated that his wings were trying to make their appearance. Only _Natsu_ could make him so tense he started to lose control over his abilities…

"Natsu do I hear you threatening to besmirch this fair maiden's virtue?" both men gulped and, with wide, terrified eyes, turned as one to face the red-haired Valkyrie behind them. Erza stood there in all of her menacing glory as she looked at Natsu like he was a particularly disgusting bug she was going to squash.

"No!" Natsu squeaked, utterly horrified at having found _Erza_ of all people standing behind him. Sure he was a dragon shifter and had pretty much grown up with the red-haired woman…but that made her all the more terrifying. He knew exactly how strong she was and how convicted, a dangerous combination if there ever was one.

"Then why did I hear you discussing sharing not only the same sleeping quarters as my new friend Lucy but also the same _bed_?" Erza had summoned a gigantic battle-ax as soon as Natsu had shouted his denial and he was having quite a difficult time focusing on what she was saying and not the ridiculously large ax she could wield with one hand. Good night just how strong _was_ the woman!

"I'm sleeping on the floor!" Natsu shrieked as Erza suddenly hefted the ax and leveled it at his face and fell into her battle stance with the ease of a person who had done so thousands of times. Normally, Natsu would not mind the excuse to fight Erza, even if she was terrifying, because it would mean a test of his strength against hers. But there was something about her defending other women that made her much more passionate about the battle and therefore more invested. It didn't help that she would also resort to dirty measures to win in these types of situations and to discourage further "besmirching."

"You're a true gentleman, Natsu," Jellal said, feeling like he would be sweating tremendously if he were able and hoping to intervene in some way. Everyone knew how Erza got when she was protecting another girl from being "besmirched" as she so eloquently puts it… He winced sympathetically when he saw Natsu casually move his hands to cover his lower half.

"Aye, sir!" Happy called from Lucy's lap, his eyes very wide as he took in the scene and very fearful for his friend. Erza was nothing if not utterly petrifying.

"I'm glad to see chivalry has not died," Erza said with a smile as she banished her battle-ax to whatever dimension her weapons appear from. Must be a Valkyrie thing… "However, Natsu," Erza continued, her face dark and menacing even as Natsu fought _not_ to cling to Jellal, who looked very uncomfortable with the whole situation, "If I hear you have not been treating Lucy like the lady she is, we shall have a very violent and painful discussion while I reteach you how to behave." And with that threat lingering in the air, she smiled shyly at Jellal, blushing furiously when their eyes met, and walked away, heading towards what the two men assumed was her home in the Fairy Tail dormitories.

"Oh my god I thought we were going to die," Jellal choked out rather uncharacteristically; usually he was so stoic and calm. As much as everyone knew Jellal fancied the scarlet-haired woman, he still struggled with her intimidating side and calming the beast, so to speak, before she got out of hand and really hurt somebody. It confused the crap out of Natsu that Jellal could have a thing for _Erza_ of all people, but to each their own.

"Aye, sir," Happy replied shakily while nodding his head sagely. "Natsu you better not do anything weird to Lucy or Erza will kill you. Twice."

Natsu nodded rather numbly as he waved Jellal off, watching the man unfurl his dark gray, feathery wings from his back before hovering some feet above the ground. It had surprised all of them when Jellal had entered their guild, with his vibrantly red tattoo, dark gray wings (though at the time they had been broken), quiet strength, and calm demeanor. He had quickly risen through the ranks to become one of their top earners, but everyone had wondered why he had joined. As a fallen angel, Jellal had been banned from being with his brethren, the mark on his face a mark of his shame as he had explained it, but he could have gone anywhere, done anything, and yet he chose to stay with Fairy Tail. He had never told anyone why he had been kicked out of his home, branded as a traitor of his kind, despite many having asked. It was something that was highly personal, Natsu figured, and he wasn't really one to pry. Sure he would do almost anything to get embarrassing secrets on people, especially that bastard Gray, but when it was something like this, even he knew to let it go.

"One thing, Natsu, before you go," Jellal said from his higher position, wings beating soundlessly to hold him aloft, "Don't set anything on fire near Lucy. Vampires burn especially easily, even more so than humans, so be careful with her." At Natsu's stunned nod, Jellal took off, hoping that Natsu would be able to control himself around the blonde. He could tell, even if others couldn't, that Lucy was a pure vampire; she had been born, not made, which made her more powerful, by far, than others of her kind. But she could still burn like the rest of them…

Natsu felt numb as he entered his car and drove to his home, frequently looking over at Lucy to make sure she was still asleep and okay. It really unnerved him that the only thing indicating she was alive was the rise and fall of her chest with each shallow breath she took and the whole sun thing… Jellal had told him she wouldn't burn up in the sun or anything but he still couldn't help but worry… Maybe he should talk to Levy about helping him learn more about vampires. As long as he asked somewhere out of earshot of Gajeel. The stupid iron dragon shifter was always hovering around the petite blue-haired witch.

"I really don't want to sleep on the floor," Natsu grumbled as he followed Happy into their small house with Lucy cradled in his arms. He expertly weaved his way through his mess of a house to the back room where his hammock hung from the ceiling. Very carefully, he placed Lucy in it before he made his way to the window and covered it with the curtains that Mira had made for him. He thought some sunlight would still be able to make its way through but he banished those thoughts from his mind. Jellal had told him she would be fine and Lucy herself said she would be fine so he was going to take their word for it.

"Oi!" Natsu hissed as he noticed Happy snuggling in next to the blonde, "You can't sleep with Lucy!"

"I'm a cat," Happy deadpanned, "Erza's not going to kill me for sleeping next to her." Natsu's eye twitched as his cat, very smugly, moved from Lucy's side to directly on her stomach, rubbing his head against her with a purr.

Natsu couldn't believe his best friend had abandoned him to sleep on the floor while he got to get up close and personal with Lucy, who had to his relief, curled onto her side and cradled Happy to her stomach with one hand. He was quite glad to see that Lucy wasn't "dead" anymore and instead had a soft smile on her face as she breathed in and out in her sleep. Happy glared quite triumphantly at Natsu before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Natsu stood there for a good fifteen minutes, just staring at his two friends. He didn't think it was fair. _He_ had brought Lucy to Fairy Tail. _He_ had been the one to rescue her from the side of the road and help her get clothes and money. _He_ should be the one snuggling with her in _his_ hammock! Decision made, Natsu chose to ignore the fact that Erza would kill him for sleeping with Lucy and, very carefully so as not to wake Happy or Lucy, climbed into the hammock behind the vampire. With a satisfied sigh, Natsu wrapped his arms around Lucy's waist and cuddled in close to her before he buried his nose in her hair and breathed in her scent. He drifted off to sleep a few minutes later, feeling more content and comfortable than he had in a very long time.

* * *

Lucy woke gradually. As a pure blood vampire, she could probably have resisted the urge of sleep longer when the sun started to come up, but she was still pretty young. With a content sigh, Lucy snuggled closer to the warmth pressed against her back as she waited for the drugging effects of the sun to fully wear off. She guesstimated she had about another half hour or so before the sun was low enough she would be willing to get up out of what she was sleeping on.

What was she sleeping on anyway? She remembered abandoning her wedding (in a very freeing show of her power she might add), agreeing to go to a stranger's home, and then joining said stranger's band of misfits. Her eyes shot open of their own accord when she realized everything she had agreed to the previous night, sun be damned. She had effectively renounced her position as princess of the vampires, had trampled all over her father and almost husband's pride, had most likely ruined her own reputation as a vampire princess, had gotten into a car _with a stranger_ , had gone shopping with said stranger, and had joined that stranger's group. That group whose symbol was now tattooed in a bright, pretty pink on her right hand. Which was being held in someone else's hand…

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Lucy shrieked as she launched herself up out of the hammock she had been lying in and across the room, moving so quickly she was hardly even a blur.

"What's happening!" Natsu roared, fire beginning to gather on his hands and arms as he shot up into a sitting position, his eyes, still half asleep, searching all over for the threat. He grinned when he noticed Happy and Lucy standing across the room from him. Happy was clinging, claws dug in tight, to Lucy's shirt and looked thoroughly freaked out while Lucy was blinking at him owlishly. "Hey Lucy! Happy!" he cried cheerfully when he realized it had only been Lucy shrieking.

"I was… We were… You were… OH MY GOD WHY WAS I IN YOUR BED!" Lucy screeched before she realized she could feel tiny pinpricks on her stomach. Looking down, she noticed Happy clinging to her with wide, terrified eyes, and immediately felt bad. Apparently the little cat had been sleeping on her when she had her little freak out and had gone along for the ride. Her guilt threatening to overwhelm her, she gently wrapped her arms around the cat and hugged him to her chest.

"You're so weird Lucy," Happy murmured as he rubbed his head against her ample chest, "But you're so soft and squishy too." Lucy's eye twitched at that but she let it go in favor of glaring at the sheepish looking dragon shifter. She couldn't help, though, but feel awed as she watched the fire recede from his body and disappear completely. Her power as a vampire was pretty cool and she had been told her wings were quite impressive, but Natsu's power…it was so different from hers.

"It's a hammock," Natsu said with a yawn as he stretched his arms over his head, "Not a bed. And where else was I going to sleep, you weirdo? I only have one hammock."

Lucy's eye twitched again as her arms tightened minutely around Happy, who complained rather loudly that she was squishing him and her breasts were going to suffocate him, but she ignored him. She had not slept so well in…well in ages and that fact scared her at the same time it sent a thrill through her. She had just met Natsu and yet, since the very first moment he had asked if she was all right, she had felt such a connection to him that she didn't know how to react. Every little thing he did, every smile he tossed her, every laugh that erupted from his mouth, every slight brush of his body against hers…it overwhelmed her senses and made her heart race. And yet she found herself being irrationally angry with him; righteously angry on one level, but at the same time angrier than was really necessary for the situation. There was just something about _Natsu_ that brought out the more primal, passionate side in her reactions.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TOUCHED ME WHILE I WAS SLEEPING!" Lucy shrieked at the top of her lungs, causing Happy to howl and place his paws over his ears before he flew out of the house, crying about how not even Erza was so loud, and Natsu to look like a deer in the headlights, so shocked was he by her outburst. "YOU CAN'T JUST SLEEP NEXT TO SOMEONE WITHOUT ASKING YOU PERVERT!"

"I'm not a pervert!" Natsu shouted back indignantly, rising from his hammock and moving towards Lucy, "I'm not _Gray_!"

"YOU SLEPT IN THE SAME BED AS ME!" Lucy screamed, her face slowly beginning to get more red as she got herself more riled up.

"Where else was I supposed to sleep!" Natsu replied while throwing his hands up in a helpless gesture, "And it's a HAMMOCK!"

"I don't care what it is! You aren't allowed to just sleep with someone without asking their permission, Natsu!"

"Oh. Why didn't you say so, weirdo?" Natsu said with a goofy grin, "Can I sleep with you Lucy?"

Lucy was pretty sure her jaw was close to falling _off_ at that point. Was he _serious?_ He couldn't be serious, right? She had absolutely no response for Natsu other than to kick him, as hard as she possibly could, in the face. While yelling about him being a pervert.

Natsu wasn't quite sure what had hit him as he went sailing through the window Lucy had kicked him through. He knew she had kicked him, his aching jaw and chin were proof of that, but he really didn't understand _why_. He hadn't done or said anything wrong. And he certainly wasn't a pervert. Like he had told Lucy, he wasn't _Gray_ for goodness's sake! So why had she kicked him and called him a pervert? As he landed in his yard with a very painful groan, he shook it off. Lucy had a hell of a kick, was a colossal weirdo, and he would probably never figure her out. But…he was pretty excited about trying to. He grinned as he heard her moving around his small house, grumbling something about personal boundaries, and thought about what job they could possibly take first. He had seen this one job on the board the other day…something about a personal maid…and he had a pretty good idea that Lucy would look great in a maid's uniform…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I cannot believe how many reviews I got after the last chapter! Thank you all so much! Well I hope this chapter gets an even better response than the last and that everyone enjoys it! So I have to be honest and tell everyone that I am not sure how often I will be able to update this. I had never really planned on making this a multi-chapter story, but as you can obviously see, that's where it took me lol. However, I am just beginning my student teaching so I really cannot predict how often I will be able to update it. I'm hopeful I will be able to update on the same amount of time, roughly every week to week and a half, but no guarantees, like how this chapter was so late lol. Sorry! By the way, I do not own Fairy Tail; Hiro Mashima does. Also, someone asked me in a PM to see the dress Lucy was wearing in Chapter 1, so I thought I would post the link here in case anyone else was interested. :) Remove the spaces and it should pop up just fine! If anyone's interested, I also have the link for Lucy's engagement ring as well.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE 2.0:** So I found out that the original link I posted for Lucy's dress didn't work! Sorry about that! So here is another link; hopefully this one will actually work! Just remove the spaces and a . com after aliexpress. :)

www . aliexpress / item-img / Custom-Sexy-Black-Mermaid-Trumpet-Party-Wedding-Dress-Formal-Gown-Ball-Prom / 609564600 .html


	5. Chapter 5

Evading Destiny Chapter 5

Lucy couldn't believe she had been talked into this even as she hissed at Natsu while she climbed in the first floor window of the large manor they were currently in the process of breaking into.

"Tell me again why I agreed to this!" she whispered at the pink haired man's back while Happy giggled at her attempt to climb in the window without flashing the world her panties, "And tell me why I'm wearing this stupid uniform!"

Natsu looked back at Lucy right as she tumbled ungracefully into the room and couldn't stop his grin. He ignored her pointed glare as he walked back to her to help her up.

"You agreed to come," he told her with a shrug, moving further into the room after she was standing again, "You said the job sounded like a piece of cake and you thought you would fit the whole "cute maid" thing. Who would have thought that stupid Everflue guy would think you were ugly?" Natsu hid his anger quite well, but he was still silently fuming. He couldn't believe that almost bald headed creep had called _his_ Lucy ugly as he rejected her offer to work for him. It had made Natsu grit his teeth and think about how utterly satisfying it was going to be to burn his possessions…possibly the whole manor…to the ground.

"It's Duke Everlue," Lucy corrected Natsu automatically as she stalked after him, smoothing down the skirt of her maid's uniform while also adjusting the little cap thing she wore on her head. Her pride was still feeling a bit stung that Everlue had completely rejected her and called her ugly in one fell swoop, but she brushed it off and figured that posing as a personal maid was only part of the job they were currently on. They were supposed to infiltrate the Duke's mansion and destroy a book for their client. Lucy had found it an odd job, but Natsu had just shrugged and said they, meaning Fairy Tail, got jobs like that all of the time. His nonchalance about destroying other people's property, and the fact he had suggested breaking in as soon as their plan for her to infiltrate the mansion had failed, had made her wonder if Fairy Tail frequently committed minor crimes, but when she asked Natsu just laughed and said that all of the places like Fairy Tail got jobs like this and did "stuff like this".

Natsu just waved his hand at Lucy's correction as he stuck his head out of the room they were in, looking left and right to see if anyone was near. Happy had already floated out of the room and was talking, rather loudly Lucy might point out, about how fancy all the stuff in Everlue's house was. Lucy's eye twitched as she realized the two were going to get her arrested for breaking and entering and possibly also destruction of property, despite Natsu's reassurances Fairy Tail did this kind of stuff all the time.

"His name is beside the point!" she whisper-yelled at Natsu, "Why are we in here like this? Do you even know where you're going? Do you even have a _plan_?"

At Lucy's questioning, Natsu turned back to see her just peeking her body out of the room they had entered. With a long-suffering sigh, Natsu walked back to her and grabbed her wrist before proceeding further into the house, listening to her spluttering quietly about how they were making too much noise and how Natsu should have a plan before they just barrel into situations like this. He chose to ignore her, although he figured she was probably right about the whole being quiet thing. Maybe the plan thing too…hm…she was pretty smart.

"How did I even end up here?" Lucy grouched as she trailed along behind Natsu, peeking in rooms behind him. They were looking for a book, so that would most likely be in a library, so why was it taking them so long to find the stupid library! Everlue's manor wasn't anywhere near as large as her father's…

"You should stop complaining Lucy," Happy said sagely as he floated near her right shoulder, "It's only your second day with Fairy Tail and you're already a member of our team and on a job! You should be grateful." Happy nodded even as he noticed Lucy's murderous stare. Feeling as though his well-being were at stake, he took off towards Natsu, shrieking about how Lucy was, yet again, going to eat him.

"So much for being quiet…" Lucy sighed dejectedly as several people in maid uniforms suddenly burst through a door some ways ahead of them, hollering about intruders. Natsu's eyes flashed with a dangerous kind of excitement as he went to intercept them, his fists already flaming and a wide grin on his face.

"Don't worry, Luce!" Natsu shouted at her where she stood to the side of the hallway, arms folded across her chest, "I'll take care of these guys!"

Lucy let her head fall into her palm as Happy fluttered around above Natsu's battle, cheering him on and randomly dropping fish from a pack on his back onto the people below him. Lucy wasn't quite sure what she should do as she watched Natsu fight; he seemed to be doing just fine on his own and she'd rather not waste more energy than she had to when she hadn't eaten since before her wedding. One enemy combatant, a hideously ugly woman, which really wasn't saying much considering the rest were just as hideous, tried to hit Natsu in the face with what looked like either a broom handle or a very long pipe. Natsu ducked underneath her furious hit to slam a flaming fist right into her stomach, knocking her back into the other three women and off the railing of the upper story hallway they were walking on. Lucy rushed to the railing to look over, her expression horrified as she realized Natsu had just knocked three, probably fully human based on their scents, women over the side of a second story railing. She listened intently for their heartbeats and their breathing before letting out a relieved sigh as Natsu sidled up next to her, his grin triumphant.

"That was too easy!" he boasted, hammering a fist against his chest. Lucy's eye twitched as she turned to look at him with a ghastly expression on her face and a dark aura surrounding her.

"You could have killed them you idiot!" she shrieked, smacking him in the chest with an open palm and knocking him back a step, "They aren't supernaturals like us! They're fully human!" Natsu pouted as Lucy's words registered in his mind and he began to feel somewhat guilty…okay _really_ guilty. He had always been accused of over doing it, but to hear _Lucy_ chastising him…well it made him squirm uncomfortably.

"I wouldn't have killed them," Natsu grumbled as Lucy huffed, turned from the women lying in a battered heap a floor below them since they were, in fact, still alive, and walked away from him, continuing the search for the library she knew Everlue had to have, though this time she used her superior sense of smell to follow the scent of ink, parchment, and leather. Natsu felt a little hurt that Lucy wasn't even acknowledging him now and knew he must have messed up pretty bad in her eyes to make her ignore him so thoroughly so he just followed behind her silently, Happy floating just as silently beside him, looking ashamed even though he had done nothing wrong.

"This is it," Lucy whispered some moments later in front of a large doorway. Natsu arched an eyebrow at her as she stopped, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply to confirm her suspicions. He stared at her in awe when she opened her eyes and her previously brown eyes were a deep onyx color, similar to his own. He was utterly fascinated by them and found himself unable to tear his gaze away. Lucy's eyes were beautiful when they were their regular brown, but there was something about her eyes like this that made him feel somehow powerful and…primal.

"Um…Natsu?" Lucy asked him quietly, feeling a little unnerved at his intense stare. Hearing his name seemed to shake him out of whatever he was thinking, though, and he grinned his trademark grin as he shoved the door to the room open and began wandering around looking for the book, even while he thought about how close he was to doing…something to Lucy. He really wasn't sure what he would have done if he had continued to stare at her, but he knew he would have done _something_ and potentially ruined what they had started, and he really didn't want that. He was just getting to know Lucy and he wanted to stay her friend for the rest of their lives, or as long as she would let him anyway.

Lucy felt bewildered as she watched the dragon shifter stalk through the room, his shoulders tense and betraying his unstable emotional state despite the smile still upon his lips. She really didn't understand what was up with Natsu, or his random intensity when it came to her, but she was choosing to ignore it as she too began to wander around the room in search of the book they were to destroy. It had taken maybe a few minutes before Natsu held the book up in triumph and Lucy had rushed over, only to realize the book they were expected to destroy was a missing novel from her favorite author. She had refused to burn it on principle, despite Natsu being ready and raring to go, and had sat down right there to read through it. Her perusal, though, wasn't to last as suddenly the creepy, practically balding fat man himself burst through the floor of his own library, showering the three companions in dirt and bits of tile.

"Buyoyoyoyo! So! My maids were correct; there are intruders in my home!" Everlue cried while twirling his very disturbing nose hair mustache. Lucy felt like she might vomit looking at him twirling his mustache. He was just…gross. Almost balding, fat, with that weird nose hair mustache, _and_ he had called her ugly; he had several strikes against him already but having him shower her in detritus and finding out what Everlue had done to her favorite author pushed her anger over the edge.

"How could you!" Lucy shrieked at Everlue, totally taking the two men and the cat aback, especially when Natsu noticed Lucy's eyes blackening once more and her fingernails lengthening, thickening and sharpening. With a rather feral grin, he wondered if her fangs would be coming out as well and couldn't help the fact his grin widened when she bared her teeth at Everlue and he saw that they had. Good grief was Lucy like this just _hot_!

"Excuse me?" Everlue asked, utterly flabbergasted before he realized Lucy was reprimanding him with her tone, "How could you! You dare break into my home to steal one of my most prize possessions because I turned you down, ugly!" If someone had chosen that exact moment to drop a pin in the library, people throughout the manor would have heard it since the room had gotten oppressively silent. Happy looked completely horrified at Lucy's dark expression and Natsu felt a little disturbed as well; who knew the tiny blonde could be so terrifying? She was almost like _Erza_. Natsu shuddered at the thought, even as it made him feel…funny inside, like his stomach was doing flips.

" _What_ did you call me?" Lucy said in a deathly quiet voice even as Natsu watched with unrestrained fascination as the clothing on her back seemed to roll and wriggle, like something was crawling under her skin, trying to make its way out.

Before Everlue could answer, though, two men burst into the library, asking if they could provide Everlue with some assistance. They appeared to be a team, one insanely tall with black, spiky hair, and the other shorter but with a mostly bald head outside of a long braid that swished behind him. The second man was also, oddly enough, wielding a frying pan. Both men were quite fit looking and were staring at Natsu like he was the largest threat to their boss, which only made Natsu grin and slide into a battle-ready stance, his fists up and a "come get some" grin on his face.

"Lucy you should head out of here with the book," Natsu said as the two newcomers also adopted battle-ready stances and Everlue looked gleeful at their arrival. "Happy, make sure she stays safe!"

"Aye sir!" Happy cried before he swooped down, grabbed Lucy by the back of her shirt, and flew out the library door, Lucy protesting the whole time that she was capable of staying and helping, while Everlue grinned mischievously and disappeared back into the floor.

"LUCY!" Natsu bellowed, feeling slightly panicked as he watched Everlue vanish, but he didn't have long to ruminate on how his two friends were being followed because the two men who had burst in suddenly attacked him. He wasn't really expecting it, since his attention was elsewhere, and he was knocked out of the library, through the railing, and into the foyer of the manor.

Feeling slightly dazed, Natsu picked his head up off the floor in time to roll away as the ridiculously tall guy slammed his fist down where Natsu's head had just been. Loving that he was getting involved in a good fight, he let his feet burst into flame as he swept the tall guy's legs out from under him with a roll of his legs. The tall dude fell to the ground as the shorter guy with the frying pan leapt down to the ground beside him and tried to strike Natsu with his frying pan. Natsu couldn't help the chuckle that left his lips as he leapt backwards away from the two guys. This fight was going to be awesome.

"Happy put me down!" Lucy shrieked as she flailed her extremities in an attempt to get the blue cat to drop her, "Natsu might need my help!"

"Natsu can handle those guys," Happy huffed as he flew down a hallway, back towards the window they initially came in, "And you're really heavy!"

Lucy's eye twitched even as a rumbling sound met her ears and she looked below them, perplexed, before she and Happy both were grabbed from below and pulled underground into what looked like a sewer. Fortunately for the blonde and the cat, though, they didn't land in the water and instead landed rather painfully on what looked like a sidewalk running on either side of the river of well…sewage.

"Ouch," Lucy murmured as she rubbed her bruised tailbone and then looked at Happy, "You alright little guy?" Happy moaned an affirmative before Everlue was suddenly kicking out at Lucy, causing her to scoop up the battered cat and scramble backwards in the same motion. How she _wished_ she had her whip in that moment but seeing as how she had up and abandoned her own wedding…she hadn't exactly had time to pack the necessities. She figured she would have to remedy that situation as soon as possible. That and find an apartment…she wasn't sure she could spend another night…day…whatever…with Natsu and Happy in their house; it was disgusting and she wasn't fully comfortable with sleeping in the same hammock…it brought up too many feelings she didn't really want to explore.

"Give me back my book!" Everlue cried as he launched another attack at Lucy. With a snarl, she leapt back again, her claws and fangs still at the ready, but she felt like she couldn't do much with Happy in her arms. And it wasn't like she could just leave the annoying animal to get hurt in one of Everlue's attacks!

"I can't believe you held Kemu Zaleon captive for so many years and forced him to write this awful book!" Lucy cried as she cradled both Happy and the book to her chest, being very careful not to accidentally injure either of them with her claws.

"It is true it's an awful book, but that's because Zaleon was an awful writer!" Everlue screeched at Lucy while Happy stirred in her arms.

"Zaleon was a genius! You never even knew there was a secret to his book, did you? All you cared about was whether or not he made your character flattering!" Lucy yelled right back at him as Happy seemed to fully recover and, with Lucy watching bemusedly, launched a kick right to Everlue's face as he spluttered about Zaleon not doing him justice.

"Run Lucy!" Happy cried as he knocked Everlue back from the force of his attack. The little blue feline knew that this might be Lucy's only chance to get away, while Everlue was distracted, and that Natsu wanted her safe.

"I won't leave you, Happy!" Lucy cried as she rushed forward to grab him, gently, by the end of his tail and then run in the opposite direction of Everlue to try and get out. She was feeling dangerously exhausted at this point, having had nothing to eat, blood or otherwise, in quite some time. Even only maintaining her fangs and claws seemed to drain her and she cursed inwardly at herself for having made such a show of power at her wedding when she had not done so in several months. Usually, if she knew she was going to use her true, full form, she would take in more nutrition, before and after, than she typically did. While she only needed to eat once every five or six days when she barely used her power, when she used it the way she did, she needed to eat, really drink blood, daily to replenish her stock. Supposedly, she would be able to maintain that form longer with less exhaustion as she aged but Lucy was still quite young in vampire terms.

Out of nowhere, Lucy got thrown into the wall as she was impacted from the side. With a groan, she picked herself up, still cradling Happy and the book to keep them from harm and glared at Everlue, who had launched one, rather desperate, final attack, his eyes crazed and what little hair he had seeming to stand on end.

"LUCY!" Lucy stared up at the ceiling in awe, completely ignoring Everlue for the moment as he too gaped at the ceiling. How could she have heard Natsu through all of the dirt, concrete, and who knows what else? Did that mean he was okay?

With a resounding crashing sound, the ceiling a few feet away from where Lucy was standing came raining down, bringing a grinning Natsu with it. He looked like he'd had the time of his life fighting those other guys and Lucy couldn't help the relieved smile that answered the questioning glance he shot her. He was all right and that was what really mattered.

"What have you been doing to Lucy!" Natsu cried as he threw a flaming fist into Everlue's fist and sending him flying back with a sickening crunch into the wall. Blood trickled from a cut in the back of his head as he stared at Natsu, thoroughly dazed.

Lucy stiffened as soon as she smelt Everlue's blood, her arms involuntarily tightening around Happy before releasing and letting him fly out of her arms with the book in tow. She didn't even hear the poor guy talking to her, asking her if she was alright, as her focus drilled in on the blood Everlue had dripping down his face. It was utterly intoxicating. Sure Everlue wasn't the most delicious smelling human she had ever come across…but by the smell of that blood…he was fully human. Briefly, very briefly, she wondered what witch or wizard had lent him a medallion or other charm for him to be able to demonstrate power over the earth, but then that moment passed and she was at the man's throat.

Natsu watched, riveted, as Lucy darted down the walkway before stooping down and leaning over Everlue. She was so _fast_. Natsu thought she would give him a run for his money when it came to speed. But then Natsu realized what was happening as he noticed Lucy's claws had gotten even longer, even sharper, and she seemed to be _sniffing_ Everlue before one finger reached out, ever so slowly, to trace the line of blood that was seeping from the wound on the shorter man's head. Spellbound, Natsu watched as Lucy lifted her index finger up to her mouth and very slowly stuck her tongue out and ran it over her finger.

Lucy's eyes shut as the taste hit her. Everlue definitely didn't taste very good, but he wasn't awful, and she was so _hungry_. A shuddering gasp left her as the taste began to fade. She didn't want it to fade. She was still hungry. So she did what any vampire would do when starving and faced with blood…she fed.

Natsu couldn't stop the gasp that escaped his lip as he watched Lucy's eyes shoot open. They were black as night as she swooped down, wrenched Everlue's head to the side, and sank her even more elongated and deathly sharp teeth into his neck. Everlue didn't even have time to protest or do anything before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell into unconsciousness. Natsu figured that had to do with the grip Lucy had on his throat; anyone would pass out with the amount of pressure she was exerting. For a moment Natsu wondered if he should stop Lucy and make sure she didn't kill Everlue but before he could even voice the thought, Lucy was pulling back and licking the leftover blood from her lips. With a slight sense of surprise, Natsu noticed Lucy wasn't a very messy…eater. Then he got a little irritated as he realized Lucy hadn't fed from _him_ and had had her mouth on someone _else_.

"Natsu we should leave now," Happy said quietly as he stared, with very wide eyes, at the vampire some feet away from them. She was readjusting her clothing, making sure she was covered, as she stood fully and brushed her hair away from her face.

"We should," Lucy agreed as she walked back to the two, holding her hands out for the book. She had not been expecting Happy to fly into her arms, instead, and to snuggle underneath her breasts while he told her he was glad she wasn't going to be hungry anymore. She smiled softly before her eye twitched at Happy's follow up comment about her stomach having been so loud the whole city could have heard it. Choosing to ignore him, she started walking away again, only to stop and look back when she realized Natsu wasn't following her.

"Natsu?" she inquired of the pink-haired man, who was standing looking a little shell-shocked at Duke Everlue. For an instant, Lucy wondered if he was ashamed of what she had done before she quickly brushed off the thought. If he was, he would have said something already and if it did bother him, he wasn't worth being around then. For some reason the very thought of Natsu not being okay with what she'd done made her heart ache, but she ignored it.

"Coming!" Natsu cried, breaking free of the jealous feeling that had gripped his heart the moment he had seen Lucy sink her fangs into another man. He wouldn't dwell on that feeling; it wasn't a very nice feeling and he didn't really like it. If Lucy needed to eat that badly, he understood and wouldn't hold it against her. _But_ he was definitely going to be talking to her, and soon, about the whole feeding situation…

"Let's give back this book to our client and then go home, okay?" Lucy said with a colossal yawn, "I've expended enough energy as it is."

With a thoughtful yawn, Natsu nodded as he followed the blonde towards what they hoped was the way out. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to broach the subject of feeding with Lucy, but he knew he would need to, and he knew he would need to do it soon. Just how to do it though…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** So…I cannot believe the response I got after the last chapter. I don't think I've had so many favorites and follows at once, ever. And not even just for Evading Destiny! You guys, all of my readers, rock. You totally make my day! Thank you so much! As always, I do not own Fairy Tail.


	6. Chapter 6

Evading Destiny Chapter 6

Natsu didn't get to have his talk with Lucy on the car ride back to Magnolia. It was way too short for the conversation he wanted to have, which was weird because Natsu didn't usually rely on talking. But it was just a feeling he had with Lucy…she would want him to talk to her.

"Natsu you look down," Mira remarked as she wandered over to Natsu's table with food for him in hand. As she set it down, she slid in next to him and folded her hands in her lap. Natsu had to restrain himself from groaning…of course Mira would choose _now_ to talk to him.

"He's grumpy because Lucy is talking to Levy," Happy said with a giggle as he chomped down on a piece of fish. Natsu shot the little blue cat a very betrayed look and Mira barely restrained her giddiness.

"Do you not want Lucy to make new friends, Natsu?" Mira asked deviously, arching a delicate eyebrow.

"What?!" Natsu replied, "Of course I want her to make friends! I just don't want her to _not_ pay attention to me!" Mira giggled at that and Natsu flushed in embarrassment, realizing what Mira probably thought he meant.

"You know you could just go talk to her _and_ Levy," Mira said with a smile. Happy gave Mira a very knowing grin as he waved and then flew off to sit at a table with Wendy, Gajeel, Lily, and Carla. On the sly, Mira winked at the blue cat as he flew away.

"I _can't_ ," Natsu whined, slumping low on the bench and then letting his head fall into his hands, "They're talking about…about… _girly_ things." Mira had to stuff her fist into her mouth to stifle her giggles. Poor Natsu...he just had _no_ clue what was going on between him and the blonde vampire.

"Natsu if you went over there I am sure that Lucy would not mind at all and they would change their topic of conversation," Mira said cheerfully before she stood and took away Natsu's plate; he wasn't eating it anyway. Natsu moaned wordlessly from where his head was lowered between his arms. Mira chuckled as she walked past him, ruffling his pink hair in the process.

Natsu just grumbled in response to Mira's sisterly gesture. What did _she_ know anyway? Why would Lucy and Levy change their conversation just because he went over? What he really wanted was for Lucy to pay attention to _him_ and _only_ him. He had stuff he wanted to talk to her about, important stuff. Suddenly, he perked up as he heard Lucy yawn. A rather mischievous grin crossed his face as he realized what that meant. The sun was coming up and Lucy was going to be all his soon!

Natsu chuckled evilly to himself as he realized Lucy's yawn would mean she would want to go home soon. Since she did not yet have her own place, home still meant his house. Which was…the best news he had heard since returning to the guild, even better than hearing about how Juvia nearly drowned Gray with her tears for rejecting her "love muffins" or whatever the hell thing she had made for him this time. After his realization, Natsu felt much happier and was about to holler at Mira to bring back his food when he heard a heartbeat stutter. The dragon shifter stilled as he realized how very familiar the heartbeat was… It was newly familiar, but he was _very_ in tune with it…

"W-what?" he heard the object of his obsession stutter out. Immediately his gaze shot to the vampire in question's back. He could read the tension in the line of her shoulders and back like a book and couldn't help but feel anger involuntarily rising in him. Whatever was stressing out _his_ Lucy was about five seconds from being set aflame by a rampaging dragon…

"Crazy, right?!" Levy squeaked excitedly as she grasped her new friend's arm, "Being kidnapped at your own wedding? Can you imagine! And being a princess nonetheless!"

"Who was kidnapped?" a thoroughly buzzed Cana asked as she slumped into a seat on Lucy's opposite side. The brunette oracle wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders and pulled her closer, nearly knocking her off her seat in her attempt to bring the blonde into her personal space, and Natsu felt his teeth grind together. His skin began heating further as he watched others so casually touch _his_ Lucy. Unconsciously, he began to flex and then relax his hands…

"The vampire princess!" Levy screeched as her grip on Lucy's arm tightened in her excitement. Lucy winced slightly in response; it didn't _hurt_ , she was a _vampire_ after all, but it was uncomfortable. Out of the corner of her eye though, she saw a fire erupt, and while she wanted to turn and see if Natsu was setting something on fire, the conversation at hand was far too important…

Natsu couldn't take it anymore! As soon as he saw Lucy's wince, he was done; he didn't care how slight it was. They were _hurting_ her and it was _unacceptable_! But right as flames burst to life around him, a blast of ice hit him in the gut, sending him rocketing backwards into a wall. Furious, Natsu picked himself up off the floor and noticed Gray smirking at him, shirt and pants lost somewhere long ago and boxers the only thing gracing his lean, muscular frame. Oh was Natsu going to enjoy pounding the living _snot_ out of the perverted frost demon.

Lucy had heard the explosion and Natsu's subsequent battle cry but chose to ignore it, regardless of how hard it was for her to _not_ turn and make sure the dragon shifter who had very quickly taken residence in her heart as her best friend was okay. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she listened to Levy explain to Cana all about the kidnapping that was front-page news. _Why_ the "kidnapping" of the vampire princess would be considered front-page news was beyond her, since no one had ever really heard of her before, and she was really struggling with _not_ losing her shit. But she couldn't afford to lose it. If she lost it, then she would essentially be giving away that _she_ was the lost vampire princess. And then, since it was being spread by her ridiculous father and ex-fiancé that she was kidnapped, she would have to spend time explaining that she had _run away_ and not been kidnapped and it just seemed like far too much of a hassle if she were honest.

"Lucy?" But if she told them all that, would they reject her?

"Lucy?" What if they wanted her father's money? What if they, after learning the truth, chose to turn her in to her father for the reward money Levy had just told Cana about? Would Fairy Tail do that?! No…Fairy Tail was more noble than that and they wouldn't care about the money… Even though it was only her second day, she could tell that…

"Lucy!"

"What?" Lucy asked, startled from her internal monologue. She turned wide eyes to Levy, who was looking at her with mild concern, then to Cana, who just looked amused.

"I asked if you knew the princess," Cana repeated her earlier question, a rather knowing glint in her all-seeing eyes.

"W-why would you a-ask that?" Lucy gulped nervously. Had they found out her secret already!

"Well you are the only vampire we know, Lucy," Levy remarked logically. "Oh it would be _so_ cool if you did know her! Then you could tell us all about her! Like what she's like and what kinds of clothes she wears and if she's down to earth or if she's all hoighty-toighty!"

Lucy knew her eye was twitching as she listened to Levy talk about what she thought the vampire princess would be like. Sure Lucy had worn fancy dresses and clothes required of her position, but she was never hoighty-toighty! Or rude and nasty! She was a good person, really! She could just feel her irritation rising as Levy and Cana began speculating more about what kind of person the vampire princess must be based on her position and how she must be so scared since she had been kidnapped and blah blah blah! Lucy would _never_ be afraid if she were kidnapped. She knew that she could get herself out of almost any situation; she was a powerful vampiress after all! And now…now she had Natsu…and Natsu would _always_ come for her; she knew that truth down to her core, regardless of how long they had known each other. He would always come for her.

"What are you ladies talking about?" Mira asked happily as she wandered over to three women seated at the bar. She had noticed that Lucy had been looking tense and uncomfortable and she could practically _see_ the fury radiating off the poor girl and wondered what on earth could possibly set her on edge like that; she seemed like a fairly carefree woman.

"Oh Mira you'll never guess!" Levy said delightedly as Cana nudged Lucy conspiratorially. Lucy inched slightly out of Cana's grasp, suddenly desperately wanting to be anywhere but _there_. It's not that she didn't enjoy the company of the other ladies of Fairy Tail, but Mira seemed to be slightly more perceptive than the other two she was seated with. And, even without knowing Mira too well, she knew this was not a conversation she wanted to have with the succubus.

"I am _so_ tired," Lucy exclaimed with a very fake yawn. Mira's eyes twinkled as she waved Lucy off with a smile. Levy expressed her disappointment that Lucy was leaving, but nodded in understanding as Lucy gestured towards the lightening sky. Cana smirked as she took a swig of her drink and waved Lucy off as she turned to go find her pink haired dragon slayer.

As Lucy turned from her new girl friends and looked at the brawl that Gray had started with Natsu, she felt her mouth drop open. It seemed like almost _every_ male member of Fairy Tail was involved in the fight. She even saw Gajeel throwing punches with an arm that looked like it was made of iron…

"Lucy," she heard a deep, calm voice say her name and she jumped slightly, having been so focused on trying to find her dragon shifter in the midst of the fight.

"Oh Jellal!" Lucy exclaimed with a small smile, "You startled me." Jellal smiled softly in response to the younger blonde's exclamation.

"I do apologize. I had only wanted to inquire after your well being. Are you enjoying Fairy Tail so far?" the fallen angel inquired, gesturing towards a table as far away from the fight and the bar as was physically possible while still staying in the building.

"I think Fairy Tail is wonderful," Lucy gushed honestly as she sat down on one side of the table while looking at the sky through the windows. "I know I haven't been here long, but I really love all of the people I have met and the job I went on with Natsu was very interesting."

"I see," Jellal said with a nod, "When I first joined Fairy Tail, it was a little overwhelming for me and I just wanted to check and make sure you were adjusting, given where you come from."

"Where I come from?" Lucy asked with a surprisingly calm tone, even as she felt like her heart was being squeezed in a vice. Jellal looked her right in the eye as he kept talking, although he, thankfully, lowered his voice so that only she could hear it above the noise of the brawl.

"I know when I am in the presence of royalty, Princess," the blue-haired man said seriously. Lucy felt her heart constrict again as panic began to rise in her throat. Before she could freak out even more though, Jellal held up his hand. "Please do not worry; I will keep your secret for as long as you wish me to. However, I must tell you, after having joined our guild, joined our family, you need to know that we will do anything for you now. If you need protection, we will provide it. If you need shelter, we will provide it. If you need food, we will find a way to get you what you need. You do not need to be fearful of discovery. Fairy Tail would never sell you out."

Lucy felt tears pricking the back of her eyes as Jellal very seriously began talking to her about how Fairy Tail would keep her safe. She couldn't understand how he could possibly know about her life before Fairy Tail since she had never told him, but there was an air about him that just made him seem…aged somehow.

"Lucy, I have been around for a…very long time," Jellal admitted somewhat sheepishly. "There are things I have seen, things I am aware of, things I know, that others could not even dream about. I know who you are, Lucy Heartfilia, princess of the ruling house of vampires, and I promise I will keep your secret. But I must tell you…if you really wish Fairy Tail to become your home, if you truly wish these people to become your family, you should tell them about your past. No one would judge you. No one has judged me, even knowing that I have fallen…" Jellal's eyes darkened with some remembered pain for just a moment before he returned to the conversation at hand with a gentle smile, "You are safe here, Lucy."

Feeling thoroughly stunned, and just a tiny bit freaked out by being in the presence of such a powerful and ancient being as Jellal, Lucy nodded. Even after only a couple of days with these people, she knew how safe she was here. No one here would ever betray her; she just felt it in her bones. But Jellal speaking yet again broke Lucy from her ruminations.

"He will never leave you, you know," Jellal said softly, a certain understanding shining from his dark brown eyes.

"W-who are you talking about?" Lucy asked quietly, pretending she didn't know who they were talking about now, though her warming cheeks betrayed her.

"I think you should know that he has never felt so immediately attached to someone in his life, besides his father Igneel. I cannot even say he felt such an immediate connection to Happy, and they have been together for a great number of years."

"I don't know what you mean," Lucy said, her heart hammering in her throat.

"He is a loyal man," Jellal said, ignoring Lucy's comments easily, "He has done more than many other people in this guild, all in the name of Fairy Tail and our family. He is honest, trustworthy, and caring. Lucy, you must understand, you now not only fall under the Fairy Tail banner, but he also feels this connection to you. You must know that he would do anything for you, even if you never asked him to. If he believes you need something, he will make sure he provides it to you, or finds someone who can give it to you."

Lucy felt slightly lightheaded at all of the information Jellal was telling her. Natsu wouldn't really do anything for her, would he? He didn't really feel so attached to her yet, right? Even as her rational mind tried to deny everything Jellal was saying, in her heart she knew he was right. She knew he was right because she felt it too. There was something about Natsu, she had noticed from the very first moment she met him, that made being around him, being with him, feel _right_. Lucy could quite easily believe that Natsu would do anything for her, because she knew she would do anything for him. The knowledge of those facts shook her to her core and she wished, desperately in this moment, that she could talk to her mother. She knew her mother Layla would know what was going on between her and the fire dragon shifter.

"There is nothing to worry about," Jellal said softly as he recognized the beginnings of panic and worry in the line of Lucy's shoulders and the tenseness of her mouth.

"But we only just met!" Lucy whispered to Jellal frantically, thankful for the brawl that was still going on to cover their conversation. "It doesn't make sense that I would feel such a connection to a _man_ I just met!"

With a distant look in his eyes, Jellal spoke up as he stood, noticing the fight was winding down and Natsu was looking around rather frantically for his vampire, "Feeling connected to another person is never something to be fearful of, Lucy. Fear instead not taking the chance to get to know them appropriately."

Lucy was about to ask Jellal exactly what he meant when she heard a loud, "Lucy!" Unable to help her responding grin, Lucy turned to watch Natsu approaching her, completely shutting out Jellal as he walked away with an amused shake of his head.

"I see you were speaking with Lucy," Jellal turned, feeling somewhat shocked that he had not realized the object of his affection, a certain red-headed Valkyrie, was waiting for him beside the guild's doors.

"I had some things to discuss with her, yes," Jellal said softly as he watched Erza turn to look at the newest Fairy Tail member and Natsu. A small smile played across her lips as she turned back to him.

"They are quite adorable, aren't they?" Erza remarked quietly, gazing somewhat wistfully at the blue-haired fallen angel standing before her. Ever since he had joined Fairy Tail, she had felt herself drawn to him, but he had always kept her at arms' length.

"They will understand in time," Jellal responded, his gaze distant once again and Erza had the overwhelming feeling that he was not only speaking about Lucy and Natsu.

"Did you tell her your story?" Erza asked nonchalantly, although her heart was beating fast in her chest. As far as she knew, only the Master knew Jellal's story, why he had fallen, why he had chosen Fairy Tail, and she wished, quite desperately if she were honest with herself, to know what it was.

"That's private," Jellal said very finally. Erza felt her heart break just a bit at his complete shut down of the line of conversation, but she understood. Everyone at Fairy Tail had some kind of past, and it wasn't her place to pry.

"I see," she replied calmly, "Well please excuse me. I do have some preparations to make for my next job and I must speak to Mira."

Jellal watched with no small amount of regret as Erza walked away. He knew his silence on the matter of his past, the reason behind his fall, hurt her, but he could not bring himself to tell her. He just could not do it… He hoped that one day he would be strong enough to tell her, to give her his reasons, to tell her what he felt for her, but he knew he was still a long ways off. With a sigh, he watched as Natsu gently helped Lucy stand from the table he had left her at, her smaller frame wobbling slightly due to the sun's imminent rising. Feeling slightly guilty for having kept Lucy longer than she had intended on staying, he went back to the table and offered to help Natsu get Lucy to his car.

Gratefully, Natsu accepted Jellal's help, knowing somewhere deep down that the fallen angel had no interest in Lucy besides as another member of Fairy Tail. Lucy was pretty much past coherent at that point, giggling lightly as Jellal scooped her up in his arms and carried her out to Natsu's car bridal style, allowing Natsu the opportunity to rush forward and unlock the car and get it started before Jellal had made it halfway through the parking lot.

"Thank you, Jellal," Natsu said with a grin as he took the blonde from the blue-haired man's arms and placed her carefully into the car, buckling her in gently and brushing some hair from her face. She smiled sleepily at him before she leaned the seat back and shut her eyes with a sigh. Shutting the door once he made sure she was fully in the car, Natsu turned back to the fallen angel.

"You need to discuss her feeding habits with her, Natsu," Jellal said, eyeing the blonde through the window with something akin to worry in his eyes, "I did not speak to her about it tonight but I should have. She has not been getting the proper nutrition she needs and I worry how that will affect her if it continues."

"I have been planning on it," Natsu said rather fiercely, "I want to talk to her about feeding from someone other than me." Jellal raised an eyebrow at that before he commented on it.

"You need to hear her out about her reasons for not feeding from you, Natsu, before you jump down her throat and attack her about it," Jellal hurried to finish at the indignant look upon the dragon shifter's face, "You need to listen to her reasons, first. She may have some very good reasons, Natsu, that you are not currently aware of and you _must_ give her the benefit of the doubt."

"Okay," Natsu said rather grumpily, crossing his arms over his chest, "I'll hear her out, I promise. But that means she'll have to hear me out too!"

With a light chuckle, Jellal nodded, "She'll hear you out, Natsu. I am sure of that." With that final comment, Jellal unfurled his wings and took off into the night, unaware of the wistful stare of a Valkyrie as he flew off.

"You should tell him, you know," Natsu called out, uncrossing his arms and instead folding his hands behind his head as he watched Erza approach him.

"Tell him what?" Erza said calmly, feigning innocence even as her cheeks burned.

"How you feel," Natsu said nonchalantly, "You never know. He might surprise you."

"I often find myself surprised by you, Natsu," Erza said, feeling both impressed and proud of Natsu for his uncommon perceptiveness. "You may wish to take your own advice, as well," she said, nodding towards Lucy passed out in the car, "You never know…she may surprise you."

With a sisterly smile, Erza waved as she left for her home, leaving Natsu standing a little shell shocked in the parking lot and wondering how Erza could possibly know what he already felt for the beautiful blonde in his passenger's seat.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** First, let me thank everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and/or favorited Evading Destiny! You all are amazing and it always makes my day to see a new favorite, follow, or review. Next, let me apologize for the absolutely ridiculous amount of time between my last update and this one. I have been student teaching, doing homework for my online courses, and planning my wedding, which is…in less than 12 weeks now so I have seriously been swamped. I am approaching a break in my student teaching as well as a kind of "lull" in wedding planning since almost everything is now planned and being taken care of, so I should have some more time in the next few weeks to write and update more frequently. Next, I really hope everyone enjoys the new chapter and it lives up to the others! Lastly, I do not own Fairy Tail.


	7. Bonus Chapter: For You I Fell

For You…I Fell

He had known from the very minute he first saw her that he would fall; it was inevitable… She was all that was good in the world. She was light in the darkness, courage in the face of adversity, joy in the deepest sorrow, strength when no one else could stand, and she loved even when others were undeserving. _He_ was undeserving, and yet every day he watched her, unable to keep his gaze from her for even a moment.

In all honesty, it had happened gradually as he watched her mature, as he matured himself, but he had known it would happen if he could not keep himself away. Despite knowing this, despite knowing what would happen to him, despite knowing he would fall, he couldn't bear to keep away from her, to keep his gaze from the one who had so effectively stolen his attention without ever being aware of it. She had always been a spirited child, contrasting his own more serious nature. In the beginning, she had been pretty closed off, but as he continued watching her, he watched her change. He began to see her real personality shine through. How she was loyal, to a fault at times. How she loved so deeply and yet struggled so hard to forgive those who had done her wrong. How she worked so hard to become strong, because she wanted to be the protector. He had watched it all, in awe of her.

He had known what was happening. Had known what that would mean for him, and yet he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't stop it from happening anymore than he could keep himself from breathing. Others around him had noticed the change and had become wary of him, keeping a wide berth as they realized what was changing him. At first, it had stung, knowing they thought of him with a stigma attached to his name, but then he would see _her_ again and that hurt would instantly fade away.

How he could have let it happen, he was never really sure. Maybe it was because he had felt alone for so long, and she was just so vivacious. Maybe it was because he had felt no emotion strongly in ages, and when he saw her, he came alive as though he were a candle and she was the match. Why he let it happen…well that was for anyone to guess. Most people, most _normal_ people, would say he had fallen in love with her, but he was never one for such _simple_ explanations.

No…he couldn't say he had fallen in love with her. He had fallen, that's for sure, but in love…he wasn't so sure about that. It was more like he had fallen into…an obsession with her. He had begun to _need_ her, with a passion and desire rarely seen. He needed to see her every day, needed to see her smile, see her triumphs. He needed to delight in her light, delight in her smiles, delight in her triumphs… He even needed to grieve with her, to worry over her when she was gone away, to wish he could take away all of her pain. He knew most would say that what he felt was love, and at the end of the day, he was sure that was the simplest explanation. But in his heart, he couldn't limit himself in such a manner. Because what he felt for her…what he felt for her was so much more than just _love_. It was all consuming, powerful, wonderful, and terrifying all in one fell swoop.

He knew he would do anything for her the day it happened. Finally too many people had noticed the change in him, and so he was delivered his sentence without mercy, without understanding, and without a chance to defend himself. He was cast out, branded, and prevented from ever returning to the only life he had ever known. All for her. All for his overwhelming _need_ for her. All without her ever knowing who he was.

As his sentence had been carried out, and as he watched himself hurtle towards the earth, unable to use his wings to even slow the fall, he knew he would take this punishment a thousand times over as long as it was for her. He would gladly give her the very breath from his lungs if that was what she needed.

It had hurt, immensely, when he had finally hit the ground. It felt like his entire body had been shattered like glass, every bone breaking, his organs turning to jelly, and his brain flattening against his skull. In all reality, his fall should have killed any normal human. But he was not normal. He was not human.

It had taken a few hours for his body to heal enough that he was finally able to stand, but his poor wings would be out of commission for a while, he knew. Even though he was healed enough to stand, his body protested and screamed at him with every step he took. He had grit his teeth against every single step and pushed himself forward despite the agony he felt. He had fallen, all for her, and he wasn't going to keep himself away for a moment longer. So he had walked…and walked…and walked, until finally…he found himself there.

He had stared for what felt like an eternity at the gates that held his beloved. She was there, he could feel it deep in his heart, deep in his soul. It was singing to him the song that was hers alone and in that moment, he had never felt more right. Yes he had fallen. Yes it had hurt worse than any other pain he was sure he could ever experience, but he was there. She was right on the other side and all he had to do…was walk through them.

With a sense of trepidation he knew he had never felt before, he pushed the gates aside and walked in, his tattered, broken, and torn body still protesting his every movement.

"For you…" he whispered as he drug his body across the parking lot, "For you I fell…"

As he pushed open the doors to the building that he hoped would give him a new life, he knew that he would never tell her the extent he went for her. He may have fallen for her, but she would never know the pain it had caused him. The fire she lit in his very soul called to him to go to her and as he drug his body through the building, ignoring the stares he was getting to reach the Master, he knew she was looking at him. He felt her gaze on the side of his face and turned slightly to take in her beautiful face.

It had nearly broken him right then and there to see her so anguished for a stranger, for _him_. He almost wanted to take everything back, if only to avoid seeing her with such an awful expression on her flawless face. But he wouldn't. He wouldn't take anything back, for it had brought him to her. As he stared back at her for a moment that may have lasted an eternity, he knew she would never be able to forgive herself if she knew the pain she had unknowingly caused him. His heart beat erratically as that knowledge only cemented his previous resolve to keep the reason behind his fall a secret from her.

"You'll never know," he whispered a secret he would willingly take to his grave so quietly none would have heard him, "That for you, Erza…I fell."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I could not help myself any longer and had to post this. Hopefully everyone can tell this is Jellal's origin story, how he came to Fairy Tail. I love Erza and Jellal so much that I had to expand upon their past, his past more specifically, because I think it adds so much to their interactions, even the minimal interactions I have shown between them so far in Evading Destiny. I hope everyone likes this little "bonus"! As always, I do not own Fairy Tail.


	8. Chapter 7

Evading Destiny Chapter 7

Natsu sighed deeply as he joined Lucy in the car after seeing Jellal off. Why was the blue-haired angel worried about Lucy anyway? Wasn't that _his_ job? And it wasn't like she hadn't eaten… He had watched her take blood from that Everflue guy and he had seen Mirajane make sure Lucy had eaten something else at the guild while telling Lucy something about making sure she kept healthy… Damn Jellal and making him worry about his Lucy! Grumbling, he was about to shut the door when he heard someone call his name.

"Natsu!" looking up from where he had just been about to start the car, he saw Levy rushing towards him with a heavy looking book cradled in her arms. With another sigh, he stepped out of the car to greet her.

"I'm so glad I caught you!" she cried as she handed him the book and then leaned forward, hands on her knees, "Oh my god that book is so heavy!" Natsu raised an amused eyebrow at the little witch's antics before she inhaled deeply and then stood up straight again, reaching out to take the book back.

"Uh so did you need me, Levy?" Natsu asked uncertainly as he rubbed at the back of his neck. He hadn't really ever said more than two words to the blue-haired girl, so for her to not only flag him down but tell him that she had essentially been looking for him? It was weird. She was weird. No wonder Lucy was trying to make friends with her…

"I found this in the library and thought you might be able to use it!" Levy cried as she set the book down, very gently, on the hood of his car and started flipping rapidly through pages, obviously looking for something but what that something was, hell if Natsu knew.

"Levy," Natsu began as the girl kept flipping through pages without any signs of stopping, but then she cried out in triumph as she pointed at something on one of the musty pages almost in the middle of the book.

"Found it!" she said with a happy grin as she gestured for Natsu to come closer, "Right here it talks about vampires and their habits! I figured since you and Lu are already such good friends, it couldn't hurt to learn a bit more about her species!" Natsu was listening intently to the blue haired witch all of the sudden. This book could teach him more about Lucy? He really hated reading, but he really liked Lucy, and every bit of help he could get on how to keep her healthy and safe was welcome.

"So this can teach me about Lucy if I just read it?" Natsu asked, interrupting whatever Levy had been in the middle of saying. She smiled in exasperation before she responded.

"It can tell you some things about her species, Natsu, but there isn't a lot of information here. Vampires are really kind of reclusive and don't like sharing their knowledge; they like keeping their secrets close to the vest," Levy couldn't help but giggle then at Natsu's very confused expression before she continued, "Basically vampires like keeping secrets and this won't tell you everything. I'm sure you'll have to ask Lu about a lot of things, but I thought this might be a good starting point."

As Levy put a bookmark she had conjured out of thin air into the book and then handed it to Natsu with a smile, he couldn't help but feel some relief. He would finally be able to learn some more about Lucy without having to ask her weird questions and feel all…weird about it. With a grateful smile and wave of his hand, he saw Levy off before climbing back into his car and driving home. He had pretty much the whole day to himself to trudge through the stupidly thick book and try and find out more about Lucy, something he seriously would _never_ do for anyone but her, since Happy was staying with Wendy and Carla and Lucy slept _all day long_.

Natsu kept staring at Lucy as he drove them home; he just couldn't help himself. The way her hair fell across her shoulder, her eyelashes brushing against her cheek, the way her chest rose and fell with every breath…she was just so beautiful and it made him feel…weird. It made him feel really weird. He had never felt anything like this before and he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. Only _Lucy_ , the weirdo, could make his heart feel like it was going to burst out of his chest and like he was the passenger on the loopiest car ride ever at the same time. He really hoped that by reading in Levy's stupidly big book that he would find some answers.

Once Natsu was home, he carefully brought Lucy in and laid her gently in their hammock. His hand lingered against her jaw as he brushed some hair out of her face and it made her smile in her sleep. His heart thundering in his chest again at that one simple gesture, that she wasn't even _awake_ to give him, he turned abruptly and stalked back to his car, where he picked up the book and went back into his house, sitting in a chair and holding the book open on the page Levy marked.

It felt like it took him forever to read through the first sentence, but then again he had never been the best reader. Erza had tried to teach him once when they were younger, but he was pretty sure he ended up more physically and mentally scarred than able to actually read. But he would trudge through this stupid book and its stupid words if it meant he could get to know more about his Lucy.

As Natsu painstakingly read the single passage Levy's book had on vampires, he didn't really discover anything new. It detailed how vampires get overwhelmingly tired by the sun's rising and that they could not be awoken until the sun was almost fully set and how they needed blood to be truly healthy. Although, to Natsu's supreme interest, it did detail how vampires can in fact survive off of bagged blood, although they would not be at "full" strength if they were pureblood and surviving on bagged blood. Something about lacking a certain enzyme only found in circulating blood, but the whole concept kind of went over Natsu's head so he skipped over it.

"If a vampire bites a hoo-man," Natsu read out loud to himself softly as his finger dragged slowly across the page, "that hoo-man can turn but only if the vampire bites them three times in var-i-us places and within three days of the first bite." Natsu peered over curiously at the vampire sleeping his hammock, recalling how she had sank her fangs into Everflue's neck and wondering if, if she were to go back, if she could make him a vampire. It said in the book that it could happen, especially easily if the vampire were a "pureblood". For some reason, Natsu was certain that Luce was a pureblood. She just had this…aura of power about her. She was much more powerful than she let on, he was certain, and he was finding himself more excited to see that full power the more he read the same passage over and over again.

Truthfully, though, the book did not offer any new information that Lucy had not already told him or Jellal had already told him. It described how dangerous fire could be to vampires, their feeding habits, the sun, and the whole change process, but it wasn't anything really _new_ and Natsu found himself extremely irritated by that. What good was the damn book if it didn't tell him stuff he didn't already _know_!

"Natsu…" the pink-haired man immediately turned as soon as he heard Lucy's soft exhalation in her sleep. Her brow was furrowed and her hand was clenched into a fist. Wondering what she was dreaming about, Natsu walked over and leaned over the blonde, feeling tired himself the longer he stared at the sleeping girl.

"Natsu," Lucy sighed again as Natsu's scent filtered into her nose as he stood over her. He watched with utter fascination as her hand relaxed and her brow smoothed out. Feeling quite curious, he wanted to wake her and ask her about it, but one look at the still light sky sent him cursing. He _really_ wanted to talk to her but he still had _hours_ to wait for her to wake up.

Having read and reread the passage in the thick book, Natsu sighed and laid down beside Lucy, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest, her forehead resting against his sternum as he sighed blissfully at her body curving to fit perfectly with his. If he could just lay forever like this with her, her safe and warm in his arms, he would be happy. A soft smile graced his lips and another content sigh left him as he fell asleep quickly, his chin resting on the top of her head and her limbs wrapped up in his.

* * *

It was…cold where she was. Where she was, she had no idea, but she could feel the chill deep in her bones. Her head was pounding as she shut her eyes tighter and used her other senses to try and figure out where exactly she was and what she was lying on. Her body felt so heavy though…almost like weights were pinning her down and she felt a stab of fear in her heart before she abruptly brushed aside the feeling. She absolutely would not be giving into worry with no reason.

With a groan, she sat up and almost immediately laid her head back down as inky darkness swam around her. As she attempted to lift a hand to her throbbing head, she realized quite quickly she couldn't move her arms, or her legs. Panic threatened to overwhelm her as she discovered that she was tied up, had no idea where she was, and couldn't tell anything about where she was via her superior sense of smell and hearing.

She laid in the darkness for what felt like hours before her head finally felt normal and not like it was trying to split itself in two. More cautiously this time, she sat up, using her bound hands to push herself up and against the wall of wherever she was being held. It was an odd feeling, certainly, knowing that she had been kidnapped and tied up and then left alone in some room somewhere, but she found that initial fearful feeling she had was gone. She was powerful and completely capable of getting herself out of this situation.

"I heard you're awake," she heard a slimy voice call out to her in the darkness. She stiffened as she tried to place it. She _knew_ she had heard it somewhere before…but for the life of her, she just could not remember _where_.

"Don't bother trying and escaping. Those chains that bind you are unbreakable; I made sure of that myself," the voice said to her, a chuckle making its way out of his throat, for she was sure it was a _he_.

"You do not know me, then," she responded defiantly, flexing the muscles in her arms and wrists to try and determine the tensile strength of the chains holding her. Just because _he_ had said they were unbreakable didn't mean they actually _were_. A growing sense of dread filled her when she realized they were not going to break as easily as she wanted them to.

"Do you have any idea where you are?" the man asked her somewhat suddenly. A bit startled by the question, having thought he had left since he had remained quiet for so long, she did not answer. "How about _why_ you are here, then?" She pondered that for a moment, running through a great many scenarios before she settled on the one that made the most sense.

"You wish to use me for something," she said rather wryly, rolling her eyes when she heard the man gasp in astonishment. Honestly…one would think he thought her an idiot with that gasp…it was insulting that's what it was…

"Very good," the man coughed to cover up his surprise and she rolled her eyes again, knowing he would not be able to see her in the thick darkness, "He will surely pay a handsome price to have _you_ back."

She scoffed at that. Like hell he would. He was probably glad she was gone since all she had ever done was disappoint him.

"Do you doubt me?" the man asked her, footsteps alerting her to his changing position.

"Oh I do," she said with a snicker, "I completely humiliated him. I sincerely doubt he will want anything to do with me now and honestly I'm better off for it. He doesn't care about me."

"And what if I told you he has been hiring people to find you and bring you to him?" her eyes widened in surprise at that. He had been looking for her? _Why_? She had completely humiliated him and left him to deal with his problems on his own, without her as political leverage…why on earth would he want her back?

"Are you curious, Lucy Heartfilia?" the voice mocked her, it's oily quality feeling like a disgusting caress in her delicate ears.

Lucy remained quiet as she pondered what he had told her. Was her father really looking for her? It couldn't possibly be because he cared…could it? He had been willing, more than willing, ecstatic in fact, to be passing her off to another man, so her disappearing act really shouldn't have made any difference… Then again he had reported she'd been kidnapped from her wedding, not left of her own accord… Damn this was confusing! What was her father playing at?

"Princess of the vampires," he said softly as suddenly Lucy was overwhelmed by his physical presence. She couldn't see him and she hadn't heard him move, which disconcerted her, but she could _feel_ him standing much closer to her now and she wished, quite desperately, that she could disappear into the wall. Everything about his presence screamed _wrong_ to her. It screamed _danger_ and she couldn't get herself far enough away from him. As though he could sense her unease, he unexpectedly leaned down, lifted a stray hair from her face and inhaled deeply, his knuckles brushing against her cheek. She jerked away violently, succeeding only in crashing back to the floor as she heard his chuckle.

"Your fear is utterly intoxicating, Lucy dear," the voice said, syrupy sweet and smooth. Lucy felt herself gag as she fought her instinctive, repulsed reaction. He was seriously giving her the heebie jeebies and she found herself screaming out for Natsu in her head for reasons she didn't actually want to examine.

"You're disgusting," she spat back at him as she fought to control her instinctual reactions. She may have been a vampire, but even vampires can be repelled by other supernaturals and even some humans. Those instincts every being has, those little voices in one's head that scream at them to run the other direction, should not be ignored or brushed off as an overreaction. Even if it does turn out to be an overreaction, it is better to be cautious than to be dead. Despite knowing this, though, Lucy rebelled against her own feelings. _Knowing_ she should be getting away from this creep and _being able to do so_ were two completely different things and being overwhelmed by the worry she felt would definitely not help her get away.

"Your screams will be lovely, Princess," the man said with a sigh full of longing and anticipation, "I will so enjoy prying every little gasp from your throat." Lucy repressed a shudder and scooted further away from the voice, her mind screaming at her to put as much space between the two of them as she possibly could, even bound as she was.

As Lucy was in the process of moving away, suddenly something collided with the side of her face and she let out a startled gasp as pain sprung to life across her cheek. Yet again she hadn't heard the creep move. She couldn't hear him now, not even his breathing, and it unsettled her further. He had just hit her, the pain she still felt made that abundantly clear, but she didn't know where he was. She didn't know where he was so she couldn't defend herself from another blow that she was certain would be coming any moment now.

"Scream for me," she heard his voice whisper right next to her ear before a blade drove deep into her thigh. Against her will, an agonizing scream tore its way from her throat as he twisted the blade…

* * *

"LUCY!" Cana screamed as she finally came to from the most horrible vision she had ever had. Around her, other members of Fairy Tail looked at her with extreme concern.

"Cana!" Mira was the first to speak as she rushed out of Laxus's arms to cradle the sobbing oracle on the floor of their guild, "Cana, honey, what did you see?"

"Lucy!" Cana said, struggling to speak through the gasping sobs still making their way out of her chest, "Oh my god Mira we have to warn them!"

"Warn them about what?" Laxus said as he stepped forward, an eerie calm about him as he watched his succubus cradle Cana and run her fingers through her hair.

"We have to warn Lucy!" Cana cried as she looked, wild-eyed, from person to person. Levy looked terrified, Gajeel looked pissed that Levy looked terrified, Laxus still looked eerily calm, Juvia looked worried, and Gray looked like he was ready to cause the next ice age. And then, all at once, everyone began talking, asking her questions as she struggled to stand with Mira very firmly keeping hold of her so she would not collapse again.

"Tell us your vision, Oracle," Jellal interrupted everyone's chatter as he and Erza entered the building. Everyone stared at the two newcomers in awe for a moment as they took in Jellal and all of his glory. His beautiful, dark gray feathery wings were out and he had an aura of righteous anger about him and a fire in his eyes. Beside him, Erza looked ready to take on the world as she glanced at them all regally. Laxus glanced at Jellal with something akin to gratitude in his gaze, having been about two seconds from electrocuting the whole lot of them so they would shut up and he could question Cana.

"Lucy is in trouble," Cana whimpered as Mira wrapped a comforting, rather than restraining, arm around her. Erza's expression turned dangerously dark as everyone in earshot also adopted a similar aura. Lucy may be their newest member, but they weren't about to let her get hurt on their watch.

"Why is Lucy in trouble?" the fallen angel asked Cana seriously as he kneeled down beside her. He could feel everyone's agitation and knew deep in his own soul that something was seriously wrong. He didn't have Cana's power of precognition, but he did know when things were going sideways. He wasn't about to let his pink-haired dragon shifter friend lose the one person who meant more than anything to him if he could help it.

"They're going to take her," Cana said, her large brown eyes suddenly far away as she recalled her vision, "They will take her and they will hurt her and she won't be able to fight back."

"We have to go get her!" Gray suddenly yelled at all of them assembled, seemingly unaware of the fact that he had lost his shirt some moments ago. Juvia gazed at him with passionate adoration while everyone around them nodded.

"We will not let this stand," Erza said quite seriously as she summoned a sword from whatever dimension Valkyries hid things, "Lucy is Fairy Tail; we cannot let anything happen to her."

"AYE!" the members gathered cried, a sense of righteous anger and indignation fueling them all as they thought of their newest member. It had only been a couple of days, and yet, Lucy was one of them already. She had made fast friends with Levy, Lisanna, and Mira, but everyone else gathered could see themselves falling into easy friendships with Lucy. Erza, who had always had some difficulty connecting to the other women of Fairy Tail, felt a certain camaraderie with the busty blonde, almost like a sisterly bond already, despite not having spoken to her frequently. Juvia felt the same, as though the vampire could become her very best friend besides Gajeel, even if she might then be a rival for Gray's affection. For Gray, he had seen the way his rival, and yet best friend (though don't tell the stupid bastard; he'd never hear the end of it!), Natsu looked at her; it was the same way he looked at Juvia when no one else was watching, as though without her, his world would crumble. He couldn't, in good conscience, let anything happen to Lucy knowing what would in turn happen to Natsu.

"We are coming for you, Lucy," Jellal murmured as he watched the rest of his Fairy Tail family rush out of the building in a hurry to go get Lucy before Cana's vision came true, "Stay safe, Princess…"

* * *

His head was pounding, his body felt heavy, and he couldn't open his eyes without some serious effort. Natsu had never felt so awful in his entire life. All he remembered was reading that stupid book of Levy's and then falling asleep with Lucy. Somehow, between now and then, he had gotten sick, even though he _never_ got sick.

With a groan, Natsu forced himself to sit up and open his eyes. Blinking blearily, he glanced around his small house and noticed his house looked…rougher than it had before he had fallen asleep. Maybe Lucy had tried to clean up and given up, like last time?

"Luce?" Natsu called, struggling to ignore his nausea and spinning head as he forced himself up and out of his hammock. He almost didn't realize at first that she had not answered. "Lucy?" he called again as he strained himself to walk through the home that they now shared. When again she did not answer, he lifted his nose and sniffed for her.

All at once, an overwhelming sense of _wrong_ hit him. Her scent was gone. It wasn't faded, like one would expect after some time, it had _ceased to exist_. Snapping out of his feeling poorly, Natsu raced through his home and wrenched open his front door, only to see his car, practically blown apart, in his front yard. As the culmination of everything, Lucy not being there, her scent being gone, his car being destroyed, that innate sense of wrongness, hit him, he realized something had happened to his Lucy. Something had happened and she was now _gone_.

With that realization, Natsu snapped, his power thundering through his veins as he lost all control.

"LUCY!" he roared as his body began the shift, scales erupting on his skin, wings bursting forth from his back, horns forming on his skull, everything growing and elongating as his true form called to him. His body fully changed within moments, the great red dragon shook its head once to clear it before unfurling its leathery wings and launching itself into the sky. The only thought in its head… _Find her_ …

As Fairy Tail rushed through the streets of Magnolia, hurrying to get to Natsu's home, they all looked up in awe when they heard a _very_ familiar roar… A large, furious, red dragon was flying over Magnolia and wreaking havoc in his desperate search for the one member who had obviously gone missing… They were too late…

"Natsu…" Levy whimpered softly as they all watched the great dragon rain fire down upon them all from the heavens…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** So I seriously need to stop trying to impose deadlines on myself. It doesn't work and I just need to give up on that and update when I can. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! More serious and more drama than previous chapters lol. :) As always, I do not own Fairy Tail! Also, I totally love reading reviews so if you enjoyed this or even if you didn't, I would love to hear from you about why or why not. :)


	9. Chapter 8

Evading Destiny Chapter 8

Erza felt like her entire world was crashing down around her as she watched her childhood friend rampaging around the city. The poor humans of Magnolia were used to Natsu's antics (and Gray's…) but this…this was something else entirely.

"We need to find a way to reach him," Jellal said calmly but still rather grimly as he stood beside her, the rest of their friends panicking as they all stood around, unsure of how to handle this crisis. Erza was about to respond when someone else took the opportunity from her.

"What do you mean?" Levy suddenly asked, turning towards the Valkyrie and angel behind her, "Why would we be unable to reach him? We just need Laxus or Gajeel to fly up next to him, right?"

"It's not that simple," Laxus said, taking charge of the conversation as Gajeel eyed Levy protectively, "Dragon shifters are very much like dragons. We are very territorial about what we consider to be ours and will go to any lengths to get our possessions back."

"Lucy is not a possession," Erza said very seriously and somewhat furiously as she turned to look Laxus in the eye. He simply shrugged before Gajeel decided to take over.

"We're not saying the Bunny Girl is that flaming idiot's possession. It's much more than something like being pissed someone took our favorite tankard," Gajeel said with a very serious glance at Levy, "Natsu considers that blonde to be under his protection. She is _his_ , but he is also _hers_. If anything happens to her…this city is screwed."

"You do not want to interfere with a dragon and its mate," Jellal said very softly, not noticing that suddenly all eyes, and ears, were on him.

"Mate?" Levy said, her voice barely above a whisper as she not so subtly glanced at Gajeel, who blushed slightly and turned away from her, folding his arms across his chest.

"Is that really what she means to him, Laxus?" Mira asked, turning to her lightning dragon shifter with an uncharacteristically serious expression upon her face. Laxus stared at her for a moment, debating if he should answer his own mate truthfully or not, but figured, because of the circumstances, he had no other choice.

"He would not be responding this way if she was anything less, Mira," Laxus said somewhat uncomfortably. He didn't want to be "outing" Natsu, even if the younger man was seriously obnoxious, but none of the others could possibly understand what Natsu was going through in this moment without his and Gajeel's insight.

"Does this mean we cannot reason with him?" Erza interrupted the understanding happening between Mira and Laxus.

"It _is_ Natsu…when have we ever been able to reason with him?" Gray mumbled as he shifted on his feet uncomfortably.

"There is no harm in trying," Juvia said with an uncharacteristic glare at Gray, "Erza should try to contact Warren. Juvia thinks telepathy may be the best way to try and reason with Natsu."

"That and Natsu's always been terrified of that crazy Valkyrie," Gajeel muttered under his breath, causing a slight smirk to grace Laxus's face before disappearing.

"I will do my best," Erza said passionately, "I will not fail Natsu."

"Better do it quick then," Laxus said quite seriously, scales beginning to appear on his exposed skin and his pupils changing to slits, "That idiot is trying to destroy the city in his race to get to her. Gajeel and I can only keep him occupied so long…"

* * *

"Oh come on, Miss Heartfilia…" the male voice chastised her, "It's no fun if you don't scream for me…"

Lucy grit her teeth as she felt the knife twist in her wound again. It was _agony_ , pure and simple. But she wasn't about to let this psycho get any satisfaction from her crying out at the pain. She would be damned if she even let so much as a _gasp_ escape her lips in his presence. She was stronger than this, stronger than _him_ , and as soon as she figured out how to get out of her chains, this moron was in for a _world_ of hurt.

Lucy almost let out a sigh of relief when the knife was pulled from her side. She had suffered numerable wounds since that disgusting excuse for a sentient being had first driven the knife into her thigh. And she was proud of herself for not letting out a single scream since that initial one and she would blame that one on the shock of suddenly having a foreign object thrust through her body. She would _not_ give him the satisfaction of knowing how badly she hurt.

"You're no fun…" the man grumbled as he seemed to withdraw briefly. Lucy couldn't contain the shuttering exhalation that left her. It was not quite a sigh, but not just a breath either. She was in so much pain…literally _everything_ hurt.

How this man could possibly know exactly where to cut her and stab her to make her feel the worst pain without her accelerated regeneration kicking in threw her. Only other vampires knew so much about their anatomy…

"Porla," Lucy suddenly gasped as the realization hit her like a freight train, "You're Jose Porla." She _knew_ she knew this man! Only another vampire would know so much about where to cut, where to stab, to make her bleed without letting her bleed completely out. And only Porla would be so vicious and evil as to not only kidnap a fellow vampire, but to put them through this sadistic torture. Oh when she got out of here…Porla would not know what hit him. How she wished, so badly, that her father had taken her advice when she had first told Jude about her terrible feeling about the man. If he had listened, maybe Porla never would have gotten a taste for power and she wouldn't even _be_ in this stupid situation.

"Oh my dear you've finally realized!" as Porla spoke, flames came to life all around the room she was in, torches lighting up one after the other as Porla bowed mockingly to her.

Lucy ignored him as she stared around the room and breathed in and out shallowly. Her body just _hurt_ ; she couldn't get away from the pain. Because Porla was also a vampire, he knew exactly where to cut her, and how to cut her, to cause maximum pain and prevent her from regenerating as she should. But it would not prevent her from taking in her surroundings and finding some way to escape. She wasn't helpless; she may be hurt, but she certainly wasn't helpless. Not yet anyway…

"Do you know where you are, Princess?" Porla asked with a sneer as he straightened and gestured around the room. Lucy had no idea where the hell she was, and it seemed Porla knew that and was gloating about it. The room she was in looked totally generic, like some kind of stereotypical villain's lair. There really wasn't much to the room, several cardboard boxes scattered here and there, the torches on the walls, and a long steel table; although Lucy was not sure she could even consider it a room since it looked more like a warehouse. Where the hell was she? Why was Porla even in a warehouse? Didn't he have his own mansion he could have taken her to that would have made more sense? Who knew though…maybe this warehouse was located near his residence or on his property.

"I've been watching the news, Lucy my dear," Porla said with a purr as he kneeled down beside her once again and brushed some hair from her face. Lucy jerked away violently, not wanting Porla's hands on her, but only succeeded in landing back on her side with a stifled, pained groan. She still did not want to give Porla the satisfaction of knowing how badly injured she really was. She desperately, desperately needed some blood, and soon, if she were going to make it out of this experience alive, if not fully well.

"I am certain my father would not appreciate your treatment of me," Lucy said with a glare at the other vampire, completely ignoring Porla's statement about the news. It's not like that mattered anyway… He had greasy hair pulled back into a high ponytail and one of those ridiculous mustaches you think all villains would have; the kind where he would twirl it and tie some poor girl to railroad tracks as he monologued about his evil plans. Lucy felt sick knowing such a vile man had been touching her, even though he had not been touching her in any manner other than violently; she still felt sick to her stomach thinking of his hands anywhere _near_ her.

"Your father doesn't give a shit about you," Porla sneered at her as he leaned back on the balls of his feet, "As long as you're still alive, no matter how barely, he'll reward me handsomely. Then he'll have you wed, most likely to the gentleman who brought you back to him, and since that man will be me, I'll make sure you aren't _ever_ able to escape again." A mad light entered his eyes then, and Lucy felt another tendril of fear lick up her spine. So he not only wanted her father's money, he wanted _her_. She would die before she let that happen…

 _Natsu…_ Lucy thought with a silent whimper, _Please…find me soon…_

* * *

 _Warren_ , Erza thought as she watched Gajeel and Laxus transform into their dragon selves. She couldn't help but be momentarily awed by the transformation. All of the dragon shifters had different body types, both in their human and dragon forms, and Erza thought their dragon forms were beautiful, each in their own way.

Laxus and Gajeel both had bulkier bodies than Natsu or Wendy, in human and dragon form, but Laxus had an elegance about his dragon form that Natsu and Gajeel both lacked. In his dragon form, Laxus was a deep blue color with jagged stripes of deep yellow crisscrossing along his back, scales interlocking over his body and large smooth wings erupting from the middle of his back. On his head, he had rear facing horns and a frill of spines that surrounded his head and went down his back to stop right before his wings. Large fangs were hidden from view until he roared and when they revealed themselves, Erza couldn't stop the instinctual shudder at seeing the six-inch-long, dagger-like fangs. Long, graceful-looking claws tipped each of his extremities, but Erza knew that as beautiful as they were, they were just as dangerous as the rest of him. Electricity crackled in the air as Erza watched Laxus take off, moving swiftly towards where the great fire dragon roared his displeasure over the city.

Gajeel followed quickly after, using his own wings to launch himself into the sky after the older dragon shifter and Erza was impressed again by Gajeel's dragon form. Where Laxus had a smoother, somewhat more streamlined body, Gajeel's dragon form almost looked like it was thrown together haphazardly. The deep gray metal of his scales interlocked as Laxus's did, but the scales were larger and thicker. Craggy spines rose from around Gajeel's head and all over his body, down his back and on the joints of his legs. Gajeel's mouth, unlike Laxus's, did not hide his fangs. Instead he had a forest of sharp fangs that were revealed regardless of whether his mouth was closed or not. They were shorter and somewhat blunter than Laxus's, but just as deadly. A metallic scent rose in the air as Gajeel flew off, closely behind Laxus to help try and bring their pink-haired friend back to his senses.

 _Erza?_ came the tentative response moments after Erza had called out to Warren with her mind. Warren was a fellow member of Fairy Tail, one of the few fully human members they had, and was a gifted telepath, the likes of which any in Fairy Tail had ever seen before. He sounded surprised to be hearing from her, but Erza did not have time to ease Warren into the situation.

 _We have a serious situation in town, Warren. I need you to connect me to Natsu, immediately_ , Erza urgently thought to him. They did not have time for this; already, Laxus and Gajeel had reached Natsu, and he had lashed out at them violently, completely ignoring the grumbling, roaring, and growling the two other men were doing, obviously trying to communicate with Natsu somehow. Everyone else around her were looking on worriedly, although Gray was surprisingly taking charge and having everyone scatter to help the people of Magnolia as best they could. While they may not be able to fully reverse the damage Natsu had already done, they may be able to prevent any loss of life from his rampage or prevent anyone from getting hurt. It was the best idea they had.

"Erza," Jellal said seriously as he rose in the air beside her, his wings beating soundlessly to hold him aloft, "You must not chastise Natsu if Warren is able to get you in contact with him. This situation must be handled as delicately as possible if we want to bring Natsu back from the brink of the edge his dragon self is teetering on. You must be compassionate and understanding. He has suffered a great loss; it is as though his still beating heart has been cut from his chest. You must handle him as gently as you are able. If you do not, this effort may be for naught." Erza nodded, stunned, as she watched the angel she deeply cared for soar off into the sky, headed towards the great red dragon above them.

 _I can do that, Erza_ , Warren responded earnestly, _This may be uncomfortable for you, even painful, seeing as how you have never made a telepathic connection with Natsu before. Normally I would never open this kind of connection, but I can see that what is happening urgently needs to be handled and I hope that you are able to get Natsu back. Fairy Tail just wouldn't be the same without him._ Erza nodded and responded with a short _Thank you_ before she felt the beginnings of the connection opening.

At first, the connection felt like a mild pulsing directly behind her eye. It was bizarre, but not uncomfortable and not painful either. But oh how quickly that changed. As the connection fully opened, Erza felt an explosion of pain at the base of her skull and behind both eyes. It was horrible and could be counted absolutely as one of the worst experiences she had ever had with pain, and she had a ridiculously high pain threshold. But she just grit her teeth and focused on deepening the connection as best she could, thinking soothing thoughts, thoughts about Fairy Tail, thoughts about things she thought would calm Natsu. Intelligently, she avoided thinking about the reason behind Natsu's rage; the missing vampire from their midst.

 _Natsu_ , she tried gently as Natsu's mind opened before her. It was like watching a flower bloom in rapid time as suddenly she could not just see the thoughts he was thinking, but felt overwhelmed by the rage coloring his thoughts. The breath from her lungs felt like it was stuck as she despairingly took in his emotions. His volatile emotions were like a physical being strangling her as she tried to rise above and speak to him. What should she say though? What do you say to someone who has lost the one thing that means more to them than anything else? How do you help that person deal with the amount of rage and grief they are feeling?

 _Natsu_ , Erza tried again, her mental voice breaking on his name as she felt another wave of the pink-haired man's anguish wash over her. Why had she ever agreed to this? Why did she think she was strong enough to get through to her friend?

In that moment, it seemed like all sound had drained from the world and like time itself were holding its breath, waiting for something Erza could not even begin to try and identify. Her eyes opened slowly as she felt the world seem to stop and suddenly, it felt like she and Natsu were the only beings in the universe as his wordless thought brushed against her mind like a gentle caress. Erza would not be able to articulate later the relief she felt in that moment when she felt Natsu's brotherly, affectionate brush against her mind reached her. That single gesture just related to her all at once how he had come back, fearing for her and the desperation he had recognized in her minds. He was not totally back to himself, Erza knew and could tell based on the nameless rage still flowing through his mind, but he was back _enough_.

 _Natsu please stop this_ , Erza basically pleaded mentally, her eyes riveted on the shimmering red dragon above her, beating his wings to hold himself aloft. _I know…I know how much it hurts; Natsu I can feel it as though it were a physical being living in my heart. But what you are doing…Natsu that is not how to get her back._ Erza shuddered involuntarily when Natsu sent a roar her direction, his rage flashing up again in an instance while Gajeel, Jellal, and Laxus eyed the other dragon shifter warily, Natsu's focus now intently, and solely, on Erza. The Valkyrie worried, briefly, if she had gone too far, but then shrugged off the fear and met Natsu's gaze, far above her. She would win this battle, just as she had won so many before. She would not lose one of the men she considered to be a brother to her just because some ridiculous bastards had decided they would kidnap their vampire.

 _Don't give me that, Natsu Dragneel,_ she said quite sternly to him in her thoughts, _This is not how to find her. Change back, Natsu. Change back and we will help you find her. I will help you get her back. And I will help you tear apart those who took her from you._ A very satisfied roar rolled over the city as Natsu finally landed in front of her, his great slit pupils focused still very intently on her.

 _Find her_ , Natsu's dragon self rumbled in Erza's mind as she stared at him in awe. It was just like with Gajeel and Laxus; she could not believe how incredibly powerful and beautiful Natsu was in his dragon form. For a moment, Erza wondered how Lucy would respond to Natsu's dragon self, if she would find him as beautiful and powerful as Erza found him, before she realized Natsu's statement had also been a directive and question rolled up into one.

 _You have my word_ , she replied, looking the large dragon in the eye. An understanding passed between them as the dragon Natsu nodded at her and then, almost as quickly as he had transformed before, transformed back into his human self with a low moan.

Erza didn't expect Natsu to suddenly transform back and had to rush forward to catch Natsu when he started to falter, falling forward still moaning lowly.

"Natsu?" Erza asked worriedly; he had never come out of a transformation like this.

"Lu-cy," Natsu moaned, clutching his head and seemingly completely unaware that he was naked as the day he was born, "T-took Lu-cy…"

"I know, Natsu," Erza said soothingly, brushing her brother's hair out of his face as she summoned a robe for him from the dimension she liked to hide her Valkyrie weapons in, nodding to the rest of their Fairy Tail family who had all, somewhat hesitantly for a few of them, gathered several feet away. "Don't worry…we'll get her back."

At Erza's fierce statement, Natsu's head shot up, his gaze meeting hers and Erza audibly gasped as she took in his gaze; his eyes were still slits and had a furious fire burning behind them.

"I _will_ get her back," he said with a growl, sounding so uncharacteristic that Erza had to remind herself that this _was_ indeed Natsu she was supporting, before he pushed away from her, barely keeping his grip on the robe she had given him. "I will get her back and I will make them pay _dearly_."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** SO sorry this took so long to get updated! I can't believe it took me so long but I can't guarantee either that I'll update sooner. My wedding is now literally less than a month away and I just…can't guarantee anything further than I WILL finish this. Just probably not in any kind of timely manner.


	10. Chapter 9

Evading Destiny Chapter Nine

Lucy had never felt so awful, or been in so much pain, in her entire life. Porla had seemed to become more vindictive after their little chat and now she was paying for it with her blood. He had taken to stabbing her again, in the same places now that they had closed, and much more slowly than before. Somehow that made it so much worse, having the knife dug back into the same wounds that had _finally_ closed only to be drug just as slowly back out. Lucy had dug her nails into her hands more times than she could count to prevent herself from crying out in agony. She still refused to give the sadistic bastard the pleasure of her screams.

In, out, in, out; Lucy focused on her breathing, trying to prevent herself from fixating on the knife that was being thrust into her body over and over again. It was proving difficult, though, since she could feel her strength waning with every wound, her blood draining from her at an alarmingly steady rate. It was like she could _feel_ her body systematically giving up, her organs shutting down in an attempt to preserve her life. If Porla continued in this manner, she would die. Bleed vampires enough and they revert to a feral form, where they attack others indiscriminately. Bleed them even more and don't allow them to feed…well then they die, just like every other creature she knew of. Flashes of her mother's face and the faces of her new friends started rushing through her mind, the images of her mother, Layla, and Natsu's faces the most prevalent. If either of them saw her now…

"Princess, princess," Porla said, his voice chiding as he ran the dagger down the inside of her right arm, slicing it open and causing more of her life to drain from her, "If you just gave me what I wanted…this could end."

For a brief moment, Lucy considered it. If she just screamed, just once gave voice to the immense hurt she was feeling, he would stop. She would not have to deal with him dragging the knife slowly across the cut he just made. She would not have to deal with him plunging the knife back into her body. He would leave her _alone_.

"Liar," Lucy said with a weak laugh, leaning her head back on the wall she was propped up against so she could look him in the eye. It was with intense satisfaction she noticed his eye twitch. "You are a sadist. You want nothing more than to make me bleed. I won't give you what you want. You'll have to kill me."

Porla's eye twitched harder at Lucy's determined statement and he stood abruptly, giving her a brief reprieve from his systematic torture of her. His muscles seemed to be crawling underneath his clothes and Lucy realized with increased satisfaction that she had effectively agitated him into losing some control, however little, of his own body. Porla paused for a minute, his shoulders stiff, before she watched them rise and fall slowly with his measured breath. Then he turned back to her with a manic look on his face and Lucy repressed a shudder at his intense gaze.

"Since my blade does not appear to be having any effect on you…why don't we just try something different, my dear?" Porla asked, his voice sickeningly sweet and unnervingly calm. Lucy closed her eyes briefly, trying to mentally prepare herself for whatever Porla had planned next, before she opened them and noticed Porla was not anywhere near her now. She looked around frantically, trying to place him with her senses, before he seemed to just appear next to her, seated on the ground beside her. She tried unsuccessfully to inch herself away.

"Lucy, Lucy," Porla whispered, reaching forward to brush a stray hair from her face, "What do you say we try a little of my…special brand of magic?" Lucy's eyes widened as she watched an orb of darkness appear, revolving slowly, in Porla's hand that was right next to her face. It was with a sense of morbid fascination that she watched the sphere of dark energy revolve in his palm before she looked up at his face, his eyes being swallowed by the black that so often took over her own eyes. What she saw in his eyes was not something she ever wanted to see in another being…his eyes looked totally devoid of anything but a deep, burning madness.

"How are you doing that?" Lucy could not help but ask as she shifted her gaze away from his terrifying eyes and focused again on the orb in his palm. She could still feel her blood draining from her, although fortunately more slowly than before, and she focused on subtly shifting her feet in an attempt to get them free from the bindings holding her. She had bled so much that surely the extra lubrication between her bindings and her bare ankles would give her some wiggle room, right?

"This, my lovely, is the result of pure vampire lineage," Porla whispered in what she was certain he thought was a seductive voice, "and feasting off of other supernaturals… Some combination of demon, other, lesser vampires, and one rather unfortunate will-o-the-wisp."

Lucy felt a pang of sadness at that; it was an abomination that Porla had fed on other supernaturals at all, but a will-o-the-wisp? Those were innocent creatures, much like unicorns in a sense, though with a penchant for tricking travelers into going the wrong way for a while. Her eyes pricked with unshed tears as she thought of the poor supernaturals Porla had drained dry.

"You're a monster," Lucy managed to croak out after she overcame her horror.

"You're a monster, too, darling," Porla pointed out mockingly before he held the orb closer to her face and Lucy could feel an odd pulsing heat coming from it. "So should we try out this new method, dear? I am certain I'll get a whimper or two at the very least…"

Lucy did not have time to react before Porla slammed his hand down on her thigh and she could not help the scream that erupted from her throat as a completely new pain sensation flooded through her. She could hear Porla cackling in the background as her entire being seemed to focus on the pain she felt in her thigh. It was like she was being burned and having acid poured on her at the same time. It was excruciating and the screams just kept pouring from her without her conscious input.

"Master," the torture ended abruptly as another individual entered the room. With a snarl, Porla turned to take in the newcomer while Lucy panted and curled in on herself from the pain, completely unaware of the pained whimpers coming from deep within her throat.

"What?!" Porla stared at the other man in rage and Lucy could not stop the gratitude she felt towards this new man. He was tall, taller than her by far, and looked to be a bit older, and quite arrogant if she were honest. He had long white and black hair pulled up in a messy knot at the back of his head with strands of hair falling down into his face. He also had a bizarre black strip tattoo running directly across his face, over the bridge of his nose and his cheeks. Begrudgingly, Lucy also admitted to herself with his fascinating half black, half white hair and somewhat arrogant air, he was definitely handsome, though not nearly so much as another man that came to mind…

"Pardon the interruption, sir," the new man said, bowing low while looking slightly disgusted and affronted at what his master was doing, "I wanted to make sure I understood the next phase."

"What is there to understand about it?" Porla snarled again, his eye twitching once again as he glared at his subordinate, "The others know the plan; ask them." The newcomer gazed at his master with a cool air about him before nodding.

"And am I to be the one to take…?" the newcomer was cut off as Porla sliced his hand at him in a stopping motion before the vampire nodded.

"The others will handle it," Porla said harshly before turning his back on the black and white-haired man, his grin maniacal as he stared at Lucy once more, "Now where we?"

"Sir," Porla looked like he was about to explode at the further interruption from his subordinate and Lucy felt immense gratitude again towards the man, even though he was only preventing the pain for a few moments at best.

"What?" Porla asked through clenched teeth, his entire body now shaking with fury and the younger man bowed before continuing.

"The sun while be rising soon," he stated quite simply before gesturing towards where Lucy still was, bound on the floor, "I did not want to leave you in here in your…delicate state." Porla's eye twitched before he nodded harshly.

"I will be along shortly," Porla said before the maniacal glint lit his eyes again and he turned back to Lucy and knelt down beside her once more.

"Don't look so relieved, Princess," Porla hissed in her ear as he caressed her under her chin, one of his claws dragging across the skin of her neck and leaving a line of blood in its wake, "Just because the sun is coming up and we must rest does not mean I will let you heal… Just as I had a drug for you and your little…friend…I have a drug to keep you from healing." Porla felt rage flash through him as he recalled how his lackeys had told him they'd found Lucy…wrapped up in the arms of another man and sleeping peacefully. How it would feel so utterly _delicious_ to drain the buffoon who thought he could claim _his_ princess…

Lucy's eyes widened in horror as Porla's words registered in her mind. He had drugged her? He had drugged _Natsu_? Tears pricked the back of her eyes for a completely different reason than physical pain; the guilt she was feeling was overwhelming. _She_ was the reason Natsu had been targeted. _She_ was the reason he might not be alright because Porla had drugged them both. In her mind, she was going through every potential scenario that could have befallen her dragon shifter, and none of them were good.

"What…what did you do to him?" Lucy croaked out, her voice feeling hoarse from her screams. She redoubled the efforts she had been making to free her ankles, although she was smart enough to keep from drawing attention to it.

"Nothing he won't recover from, darling," Porla said with what she was sure he thought was a soothing voice but it only came across as vicious and somewhat…jealous? Lucy cringed as Porla reached out again and drug another claw down her neck, opening yet another cut that began to drip blood, his eyes turning slightly feral as he stared at her. Her eyes widened further when she watched him slowly move his claw up to his face, breathing in deeply to take in the scent of her blood.

"Don't," Lucy couldn't stop herself from whispering as she watched him with dread. There was a reason vampires didn't drink from other supernaturals… What was Porla thinking? He had already committed the ultimate crime, multiple times from his own admission, so there really was nothing stopping him from doing it now, but she was still having the hardest time wrapping her head around it. It did not stop the overwhelming fear she felt at the thought of him drinking from her, if anything it intensified it to know he had already willing taken from others.

"Oh Lucy dear," Porla said mockingly, wiping her blood off on his pants, "I would never take _your_ blood. Your scent is far too…sweet for my taste." And with that, Porla stabbed her with a needle, making her body feel suddenly heavy, and walked away, opening a door that Lucy had not yet noticed since it blended in so well with the wall. "But I definitely would not mind a taste of that…friend of yours. He smells absolutely _intoxicating_."

As Lucy's eyes began to force themselves closed without her conscious decision, dread started to flow through her once again. Porla was a bastard, but he was clever. He must know, somehow, how much Natsu meant to her already and he was going to use that… He was going to use that against Natsu…Natsu needed to stay away or Porla was going to drain him dry… Lucy saw very briefly the other man looking at her with something akin to pity before he, too, left the room and her eyes shut fully.

 _Natsu…_

* * *

"Natsu," Jellal said, relief clear in his voice as he set down beside the pink-haired man, "I am glad to see you are back to yourself." Natsu barely nodded as he pulled the robe tighter around himself. Typically, the whole nudity thing didn't matter to him, or any of the other shifters, but in this instance he felt he needed to be covered. He had a vampire to find and people to rip to shreds for taking her.

Gajeel and Laxus landed next, bodies shrinking rapidly as they returned to their human forms. Mira was already standing at the ready with a spare set of pants for Laxus while Levy, blushing heavily, conjured a pair of pants for Gajeel to wear. Thoughtfully, she also conjured a pair for Natsu, which he accepted with a grunt and a nod of his head.

"What can you tell us, Natsu?" Erza said rather gently as the bare-chested man inhaled deeply, obviously still struggling to hold it together.

"She's gone," Natsu said hollowly, his eyes looking haunted and at the same time full of a barely suppressed rage.

Jellal shared a significant look with both Laxus and Gajeel before he moved to stand closer to the pink-haired shifter, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder in a placating gesture.

"We know that, Natsu," Jellal said quietly as the other members of Fairy Tail gathered around them. Laxus and Mira looked furious on Natsu's behalf, Gajeel looked pissed, which was fairly normal for him, Levy looked concerned, Gray looked pissed as well, Juvia also looked concerned, and Erza was looking at him with something akin to motherly concern. It was a bit overwhelming having them all around Natsu at once, but at the same time it was nice because he could practically feel the support rolling off of them. He grinned for a brief moment before he sighed and decided to tell them exactly what he knew, even though it really wasn't much.

"Luce…Lucy and I went back to our house after leaving last night," Natsu started, struggling to remember everything correctly, "Levy had given me this book that I wanted to read so Lucy went to bed and I stayed awake for a few hours reading." When he heard Natsu had been reading, Gray snorted lightly but at the angry glare from Juvia, Erza, Levy, _and_ Mira, shut up and let his friend continue.

"What happened next, Natsu?" Laxus asked very seriously, one arm slung around Mira and pulling her close into his side, as though he, too, were fearful of losing her. Natsu felt so envious in that moment, watching Laxus and Mira interact, and he was not even sure why. Was it just because Lucy was gone?

"I went to bed," Natsu said with a shrug, "Luce and I were laying in the hammock and next thing I knew it was dark and I was waking up feeling like crap." He saw Erza's eye twitching even as she tried to maintain her motherly concern and took a step away from her, closer to where Jellal stood, looking thoughtful, knowing that he had just admitted to doing something the Valkyrie did not approve of.

"Natsu," Jellal said, stepping in before Erza lost her cool and beat Natsu for "besmirching" Lucy despite the very serious situation they were in, "have you ever woken up feeling like that before?" At Natsu's blank look, Jellal sighed and tried to simplify his question, "What I mean, Natsu, is have you ever once felt the way you felt this night when you woke up? You said you felt like crap when you awoke; have you ever had that feeling before?"

Natsu considered the fallen angel's question for a moment. Honestly the only times he could remember feeling poorly were when he had challenged Laxus and Erza to fights and lost…badly…but how he felt this morning…he had never felt like _that_ in his life, not even when he was motion sick.

"No," Natsu said slowly as he remembered the intense feeling of vertigo even though he was still lying down, "My head…my whole body felt heavy, like somehow gravity was pressing more on me than anywhere else. When I tried to open my eyes, I felt ill, nauseous and like my throat was filling with stomach acid. Lucy…Lucy's scent was gone." Natsu felt his body shuddering as he remembered how her scent had just ceased to exist in his home and struggled valiantly to keep it together. He would do Lucy no good in his dragon form at the moment. When he found her, that's when he could dragon out.

"What do you mean, her scent was gone?" Gajeel grunted out as he watched the pink-haired man pull it together. He had only ever heard of someone's scent disappearing once, and that was back before he joined Fairy Tail… But it couldn't be…

"Juvia is also curious," Juvia stated, the naiad also recognizing elements of Natsu's story, although she, like Gajeel, wished it were not what they were both thinking. They shared a commiserating glance before waiting for Natsu to respond.

"I mean just that," Natsu growled at them rather irritably, "Her scent was _gone_. It has ceased to be in my home or any of the surrounding area. It was like whoever took her took steps to demolish any trace of her…" Natsu's voice got sad by the end of his statement and all of the women in the group felt such sorrow for him in that moment and Ley impulsively embraced him, surprising Natsu and Gajeel both. But Natsu did not mind, he gratefully wrapped his arms around Lucy's newest friend and accepted the comfort she was offering.

"Juvia wants to go investigate Natsu's home," Juvia spoke up after Levy pulled away from Natsu, her eyes swimming with unshed tears, "Juvia thinks she may know who has taken Lucy, but she wants to confirm her suspicions." Everyone around them nodded before Gajeel, too, spoke.

"I'm going with her," Gajeel rumbled in his low voice, "I know where Salamander's house is and I can identify any new scents." Natsu looked like he was about to object when Erza spoke up.

"Natsu, I want you to come back to the guild. Hopefully Master will be back and we can get his take on this. Also, Cana may be able to read you…who knows…it might be helpful," the older red-haired woman stated, placing a hand on Natsu's shoulder and gripping it tightly. She could still feel his emotions resonating in her head and she was not exactly sure if that was because their connection was still open or if that was because his emotions were so intense that she just could not shake them yet. Personally, she was hoping for the later; she was not sure she could handle being in Natsu's head all of the time.

"Wendy should also look you over," Mira pointed out, gaining a nod from Laxus, "She might be able to tell if you've been drugged and that's why you didn't wake up when Lucy was taken."

Natsu stared at his friends, feeling slightly agitated. He didn't _want_ to go back to the guild and sit around waiting for Gramps and Wendy to come. He didn't _want_ Gajeel and Juvia snooping around his house trying to find out who took Lucy. _He_ wanted to do that. _He_ wanted to find out who was stupid enough to kidnap his new friend. And he was about to protest, too, when he lost consciousness.

"Did you have to knock him out?" Jellal asked Erza with exasperated amusement in his tone. The Valkyrie shrugged as she hefted the dragon shifter up and onto her shoulders in a fireman's hold.

"He would have argued with us until he was blue in the face," Laxus pointed out as he waved Gajeel and Juvia off, noticing that a certain blue-haired witch was tagging along, trying to be stealthy. He suppressed a smile at Levy's antics and turned back to face the others. He did not miss the look of concern that crossed Gray's face as they all watched the others head off in the direction of Natsu's house. A pang hit him in the heart as he watched his friends walking away. Natsu had lost his mate, not that he realized that's what the petite blonde meant to him, and it made his blood boil at the same time his heart bleed for the younger shifter. He glanced at Mira from the corner of his eye and tucked her into his side more tightly. If anything ever happened to her, he didn't know what he would do; Laxus was amazed Natsu had been holding it together fairly well.

"We should head back," Gray finally spoke up after they all had watched Gajeel, Juvia, and Levy disappear into the distance. His hands were creeping subconsciously down his chest to the button of his jeans, a sure sign he was agitated, and Mira removed herself from Laxus's side and put a placating hand on Gray's nude shoulder.

"She'll be fine," Mira said softly, correctly deducing Gray's worry, though the dark-haired frost demon looked shocked at her proclamation.

"Let's go," Jellal said after another moment, unfurling his dark, feathery wings and taking flight into the sky, "I will alert Master and Wendy to be ready for when you arrive with Natsu. There's no time to waste." The others watched Jellal take off like a shot and noticed what he was talking about. The sun was rising.

 _Lucy…I'm coming for you…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE** : Yay new chapter! I am super excited I am getting it up before January! I truly thought I would not be able to write or anything until then and I am very glad to say that, obviously lol, I have found some time! I hope this chapter lives up to the expectation of the others and that everyone enjoys it. Please leave a review to let me know! :)


	11. Chapter 10

Evading Destiny Chapter 10

Gajeel stood on the outskirts of Natsu's home, looking at the destruction wrought upon the building and his car. The building had seen better days before the bastards who had taken Lucy had come around, but now it looked even worse. There were scorch marks from where someone had blown up Natsu's vehicle and the windows were blown inward. The land around the building looked like it wouldn't see vegetation for ages and like an earthquake had broken it apart. Gajeel felt anger rising up in him on his friend's behalf.

"Who could have done this?" Levy asked in a soft voice as she took in the view. Juvia, standing beside her, looked guilty and concerned at the same time.

"Phantom Lord," Gajeel bit out furiously. He and Juvia had been members of the guild what felt like lifetimes ago, before they had found Fairy Tail. And Phantom Lord's master, a sick vampire named Jose Porla, was most likely behind this. Why, though, Gajeel had no idea.

"There is no doubt, Gajeel?" Juvia asked, her tone worried, "But what could they gain from taking Lucy?"

"Hell if I know," he grunted out as he walked around Natsu's home. He wondered what his former guild mates had drugged Natsu with, seeing as that would be the only way they ever would have gotten close to Lucy.

As Gajeel was making his way back to the front of the house, having inspected all the way around, looking for clues as to which members of Phantom Lord would have done this, he heard Levy gasp and rushed to the front. What he saw made his blood chill.

"G-Gajeel," Levy said, her voice high and frightened. It looked like she was literally being eaten by the ground. Stone crawled slowly up her body, trapping her arms at her sides. She was stretching her neck, trying to keep the stone from getting up to her face, but a man in a brown suit was just grinning at her predicament. It didn't take but a moment for Gajeel to adopt the hardened metal scales of his dragon form as he roared at the former guild member of his, Sol, and charged.

"Ah, ah, ah," Sol said in his French accent as he seemingly danced away from Gajeel's furious attack, "Zat will only get ze girl consumed faster."

Gajeel growled violently as he turned back towards Sol, "Let her go, Sol." Levy shivered in her rock prison as the stone worked its way a little bit further up her body.

"But we are having so much fun," Sol said with a crazy grin as Gajeel roared again. Briefly, Gajeel wondered where Juvia was when he saw a puddle making its way along the ground at a rapid pace. A smirk made its way onto the dragon shifter's face as he launched a more vicious attack at Sol, coating his throat with metal before roaring, causing a tornado like effect of shrapnel to erupt from his mouth and fly towards the Sidhe elf.

As Sol dodged out of the way with wide, surprised eyes, Juvia reformed herself behind the mound of earth trying to bury Levy. Levy turned in shock as she watched Juvia form large claws on the tips of her fingers with her water and start to slice at the rock holding her in place.

"Juvia," Levy breathed as she tried not to move to prevent herself from being cut.

"Do not worry, Levy," Juvia said with a smile as she continued to meticulously cut away at the earth binding the other blue-haired woman, "Gajeel will keep you safe." And so he was as Levy turned her head again to watch Gajeel launching attack after attack at the man named Sol. Levy couldn't help but be awed as she watched the man who unknowingly held her heart fight for her.

Gajeel was magnificent as he fought in his human form. He fluidly changed his body to meet his needs, switching his arms to large clubs or swords as necessary. Levy couldn't help but hold her breath as she watched Sol beginning to tire, and make mistakes. Finally, Sol made one mistake too many, and Gajeel grabbed hold of the man by the front of his suit.

"Where's Lucy?" the metal dragon shifter growled in the elf's face as Juvia finally succeeded in freeing most of Levy from her rock prison, "And why did you trap Levy?"

"It's so, so sad…" Gajeel stiffened as he heard the voice of one of the most powerful sylph he had ever met. It was not good that Aria was here…

"Juvia!" Gajeel roared as he heard Aria's voice near him. The naiad looked startled as the air started to swirl around her and Levy, and then she realized what was going on. Aria was performing his "air lock". It was very similar to her own water lock, but instead of trapping the person in a sphere of water, it sucked all of the air out of the person's vicinity within a radius of five feet. Locks were incredibly dangerous elemental spells, especially an air lock, as they had the potential to drain their victims of life, which was one of the reasons Juvia no longer used her water lock.

Moving like lightning, Juvia finished cutting through the rock holding Levy and shoved her out of the way of the air lock, only to find herself trapped as the oxygen in the lock began to thin. Levy fell hard to the ground with wide eyes as she looked at Juvia, who seemed to be suffocating slowly as she fell to her knees in a swirling sphere of air.

"Juvia!" Gajeel roared as he threw Sol and looked around, trying to locate Aria to free his friend.

"It's just so, so sad," Gajeel heard Aria say again, but he couldn't locate the other man. Gajeel knew that if he could just find the other man and distract him for a moment, Juvia could free herself from the airlock. But that wasn't going to happen as he watched Juvia vanish into thin air, leaving Levy screaming her name in her wake.

* * *

Totomaru couldn't help but stare at his companions, then the blue haired naiad laid out on the chaise lounge in one of the many living rooms in their guild's mansion. Had Aria and Sol seriously kidnapped _Juvia_? Their former _comrade_? He wanted to bury his head in his hands and just bemoan their stupidity. When the Master had told them to kidnap another member of Fairy Tail, Totomaru was _pretty sure_ he hadn't meant to kidnap Juvia. Although there may be some sort of poetry in bringing their former guild member back, but Totomaru was having many second doubts about what Porla was doing, the least of which was kidnapping his former teammate.

"Master zaid to bring anozer supernatural so that iz what we did," Sol said with one of his bizarre body jiggles. Aria chimed in with a discussion of how sad it was their former comrade was now their captive and Totomaru felt intensely torn about it. Juvia had been their friend, their ally. He wasn't sure what to do about it, but he knew what their Master would want him to.

"Call one of the underlings and have them take her to the same…'room' we have our illustrious princess staying," Totomaru said, shoving his second thoughts deep down where he wouldn't have to feel them anymore.

"So, so sad," Aria murmured as Sol left the room to do as Totomaru asked.

* * *

When Juvia awoke, it was with a groan and her right ankle chained to a damp, dungeon wall. She raised her hand to her throat as she remembered exactly how she had wound up in this agonizingly familiar dungeon; Aria had suffocated her just enough to make her pass out. Her head was pounding as she sat up and looked around. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw a very, very battered looking woman chained to the wall about five feet from her.

Juvia wanted to ask how the woman was, and who she was, but she was completely unconscious and Juvia could not see her face. Her arms were drawn up on either side of her head, chaining her to the wall in a Y formation with her legs tucked under her. Blood was trickling from numerous wounds across her body and her hair was so matted with dried blood that Juvia was unsure what color the other woman's hair was.

"How awful," Juvia murmured, her heart going out to the woman as she thought about how she could possibly escape and help them both. Juvia wondered at how the woman could still be breathing, since Juvia saw her chest rising and falling, when she had obviously been beaten so severely. That was when Juvia noticed there was not much blood pooled around the woman and figured that must mean she had been moved from another location. Juvia gasped as she finally noticed the pink tattoo on the woman's right hand.

"Lucy," Juvia said, despair and anger for her new friend making her feel like she was suffocating all over again. Was this what Porla had been doing with her since he took her? Lucy had only been missing for a day, but it looked like Porla had inflicted as much pain on her as he possibly could in the time he had with her. Juvia did not envy what would befall Porla if the other members of Fairy Tail got to him, especially Natsu.

Thinking about Natsu and his overprotectiveness of the battered vampire across from her inevitably made her start thinking about Gray, the frost giant she wished was as overly protective of her as Natsu was of Lucy. But Gray was too caught up in his own past to really see her as anything more than a comrade at this point. It was funny because everyone thought Juvia was too blinded by her passion for Gray to see it, but she knew. How could she not? But her reason for still expressing her affection for him at every chance she got was so, once Gray was ready to move on with someone, he would know that she had always been there for him.

While caught up in her ruminations on Gray, the sun had set. Juvia did not have as finely tuned an internal clock as other supernaturals, but she _was_ a naiad. And naiads could feel the pull of the moon seeing as it had power over water just as they did. She just knew the sun had set and the moon was taking over the night. It also helped that the vampire across from her was suddenly wide awake and staring unnervingly at her with wide, pitch black eyes.

"Lucy?" Juvia asked, unsure of herself as she fought the urge to inch away from the blonde. But it was difficult because she looked absolutely _terrifying_. Blood was caked all over her and still ran from various cuts, she had mottled patches of black and purple on the skin that was exposed and not blood covered, and the almost completely feral black eyes really threw Juvia for a loop. Who knew the petite woman could project such a fearsome aura?

Lucy just stared at her in response, unnerving Juvia further. What had Porla done to the girl to put her in this state? Still feeling hesitant, Juvia tried to scoot closer to Lucy and was fairly successful as she was within arm's reach of the blonde. That movement seemed to awaken some part of Lucy as she strained against her chains in what looked like an attempt to sink into the wall behind her.

"Lucy, what can Juvia do to help?" Juvia asked, wishing she could get closer to the vampire.

"Stay away from me," Lucy growled in a guttural tone that did not sound at all like her regular voice. Juvia jerked back, shocked by the vehemence in the other woman's voice. Slowly, Juvia backed away from her fellow guild member until she was back in the position she had started in when she awoke. It appeared that helped Lucy immensely because her eyes lost a little bit of their blackness and she breathed out in relief.

"What has he done to you?" Juvia whispered despairingly. She had not seen brutality like this since her days in Phantom Lord, and it had been one of the reasons she and Gajeel had left in the first place.

Lucy laughed bitterly as she laid her head back against the dungeon wall.

"What hasn't he done to me?" Lucy asked rhetorically, then her eyes widened as she realized exactly who was with her, "Juvia? How did you get here?"

"Juvia was kidnapped," Juvia stated with a shrug, "My former guild mates, Aria and Sol, took me from Natsu's house when Gajeel, Levy, and Juvia went to investigate."

"Natsu's house? You were investigating at Natsu's house?" Lucy asked, suddenly feeling very apprehensive, "Is Natsu okay? Porla told me he had drugged Natsu but I don't know with what. Is he okay?"

"Natsu is fine, Lucy. He is just very worried about you. We all were," Juvia told her gently. She could see the worry in Lucy's eyes and wished there were some way she could get the two of them out of this dungeon…

"Lucy!" Juvia suddenly cried as she realized she could still feel her magic, "Juvia can use her magic! Juvia can control water and she can use it to cut us free!"

Lucy's eyes widened and sparkled with hope for a moment before her expression turned to horror.

"No, Juvia!" Lucy shouted fearfully, "You can't release me!"

"But why not?" Juvia asked, completely baffled. Why would Lucy not want to be freed?

"I…I don't want to hurt you," Lucy admitted miserably as she looked down at the ground.

"Juvia doesn't think you would hurt her," Juvia said confidently as she smiled at the vampire. "Juvia trusts you."

"I don't trust me," Lucy stated quietly, "Porla did…so many things to me. He has practically bled me dry. I don't know how much longer I will be rational unless I feed and…I don't want to feed from you."

Juvia was incredibly surprised by Lucy's admission. Porla had not let her feed? He was such an abominable bastard! Juvia felt a lot of anger at her former guild master for what he had done. First he kidnapped Lucy, then he tortured her, and now he had brought Juvia to the dungeon. As Juvia thought it over, she realized Porla had brought her in for one purpose, to have Lucy feed from her.

"Why don't you want to feed from Juvia?" Juvia asked. She would not mind letting Lucy feed from her if it would help Lucy heal. If she healed enough to move, then she and Juvia could escape.

"Feeding from other supernaturals is bad for vampires," Lucy said with a sigh, "It's like how humans are with illicit drugs. Feeding from other supernaturals is highly addictive to vampires, especially pure-blood vampires like myself. It grants us a similar form of whatever that supernatural's magic is, but eventually we become so addicted to their blood that we start killing indiscriminately and it warps our minds. We start developing sadistic aspects to our personalities and reveling in the killing. I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want to drain you dry or become an addict."

Juvia sat in stunned silence after Lucy's confession. The naiad had never heard that vampires could become addicted to blood. It made sense to her, though. If drinking blood from another supernatural gave vampires their abilities, Juvia could see how vampires could become addicted to it.

"Juvia understands," Juvia said when she was finally able to speak. "How can Juvia help you then?" Lucy just smiled softly at Juvia.

"Stay away is all I ask," Lucy told Juvia. The blue-haired woman nodded seriously at the blonde before they both turned their heads as they heard a door open at the top of the stairs.

"He's back," Lucy said softly, her eyes being eaten up by black again as her face took on a fierce, angry expression. Juvia was amazed to see there was no fear on her face despite the torment she had endured, just resolve and anger.

"Oh my dear princess…I had hoped you would already be feeding by the time I got to you."

* * *

It had only taken Gajeel an instant to transform into his dragon form before indicating to Levy she should climb aboard. Like a gunshot as soon as Levy was situated, Gajeel took off for Fairy Tail. His best friend had just been kidnapped, and while he didn't really understand why Lucy had been taken in the first place, he understood fully why Porla would take Juvia, too. And he wasn't about to let anything happen to the blue-haired naiad.

"Gajeel what's going on?" Levy cried as she clung to one of the many craggy spikes along his back. She had just seen their friend and fellow guild member get kidnapped, in place of her she might add, and now he was racing towards what she had to assume was their guild. She didn't know what was going on, though, and it was really pissing her off. Juvia and Gajeel obviously knew who had taken Lucy, and now Juvia, but Gajeel wasn't talking. She wanted to know, dammit!

Gajeel just growled in response as Levy realized she could already see Fairy Tail. Levy understood his growl to mean he wouldn't tell her now, and while she logically understood that he probably wanted to tell everyone at once, it still irritated her. Before she knew it, though, they were landing in Fairy Tail's parking lot, buffeting cars with blasts of air from Gajeel's wings. Before she could even think to slide off his back, Gajeel was transforming back to his original form and she found herself free falling through the air, only to land in his muscular arms against his very naked chest.

"Come on, Shrimp," he said in his low voice, "We have to tell everyone what happened. And then we have to go save Juvia and that Bunny Girl." Levy just nodded, too stunned by the sudden transformation and winding up in his arms to articulate anything intelligent.

They burst through the doors of their guild and suddenly they were on the receiving end of many, many stares. Levy felt her cheeks redden as she realized she was still in Gajeel's arms for no apparent reason and started to wriggle her way out of his arms, only for him to growl lowly at her for trying to escape. She glared right back before she realized everyone was still staring at them and it was making her feel awkward.

"You need pants," Laxus said with a roll of his eyes as he motioned to Kinana, the bartender, to go fetch a pair. Gajeel shrugged as his grip on Levy tightened, which caused her to grumble irritably and cross her arms as she, very obviously, refused to look at Gajeel's chest, despite being pressed against it.

"Ooo did you finally make a move, Gajeel?" Mira asked with a giggle as she came to stand beside her husband and mate. Gajeel didn't answer, but he did turn his head as his cheeks reddened slightly.

"Here are some pants, Gajeel," Kinana said as she returned and handed them to him, studiously keeping her eyes above his waist, which actually wasn't that hard since Levy's body in his arms kind of blocked the view of most of his body. Seemingly very begrudgingly, Gajeel set Levy down and then pulled on the pair of pants. Levy, looking incredibly flustered and still sporting some red on her cheeks, turned as soon as he was done and smacked his face.

"What the hell was that!" Levy shouted as literally everyone in the guild hall watched on in stunned silence. Levy _rarely_ cursed, in fact they were pretty sure she had _never_ cursed. Guess Gajeel really brought out the best in her…

"Want to know who took Bunny Girl and Juvia or not?" Gajeel asked with a grunt. Levy's eye twitched in irritation, but she folded her arms across her chest and waited. Everyone else, on the other hand, surrounded Gajeel as they waited to hear whose asses they were about to go kick.

"Where are we going, Gajeel?" Erza asked imperiously as she stood at the head of the table that held a waking Natsu.

"Someone took Juvia?" Gray interjected before Gajeel could speak. His voice was furious and his face was full of rage. Mira shook her head slightly as she wondered when the man would realize his feelings for their resident naiad.

"Phantom Lord," Gajeel practically spat as Laxus, Mira, Erza, and Jellal's eyes all widened in surprise. They all knew the guild he and Juvia had come from, and they all knew its reputation, but everyone else just looked confused.

"Where is Phantom Lord?" Natsu growled as he woke fully, his onyx eyes fading into a brilliant golden red color as his dragon fought to rise to the surface. Gray nodded in agreement, his hands starting to glow a soft white-blue color and the temperature around him dropping several degrees.

"Wait," a voice called out. Everyone's faces turned to the doors of their guild, where their master, Makarov, had just walked in. He looked them all over coolly before he spoke again, "Why was Lucy taken in the first place?" Both Natsu and Gray looked like they could care less, and Gajeel and Jellal looked incredibly uncomfortable, before Cana spoke out.

"She's a princess, Gramps," she said, wavering on the stool she sat at, "Her craptastic dad basically put out a free for all call to get her back. Apparently she was 'kidnapped' from her wedding." At that, all of Fairy Tail was in an uproar.

"She's the princess?!" Levy cried out in surprise while Gajeel just huffed and crossed his arms. Laxus and Mira exchanged a look full of meaning while Gray gasped. But one person's voice was, by far, louder than the rest.

"Her _wedding_?" Natsu asked, both furious and incredulous. What did Cana mean, her _wedding_? Lucy wasn't married…and then how he had found her hit him. That fancy dress, her hair, all of it now made sense. She had run away from her own wedding. A sense of vicious satisfaction overcame him when he realized she hadn't wanted to marry the guy.

"Yeah," Cana said nonchalantly, "She was supposed to marry some minor vampire lord, Boring something or other. Obviously she didn't go through with it, but that's why Phantom Lord kidnapped her. They probably want the status and her daddy's money."

"What about Juvia?" Gray asked, cracking his knuckles dangerously, "Why would they take her? She's not a princess."

"To feed from," Gajeel said grimly. Everyone gasped at that except Natsu, who just burst into flame and roared in anger. Before Natsu could fully transform and fully destroy their guild hall, Makarov's fist grew and he slammed Natsu into the wall, knocking some sense back into him and preventing a dragon from trampling everyone in the hall.

"Why would Phantom Lord's master want Lucy to feed from Juvia?" Mira asked worriedly, wrapping her arms around one of Laxus's. The blonde man looked down at his wife and carefully tucked her into his side before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Vampires have unique systems," Jellal spoke up. "If they feed from other supernaturals, they gain some form of that supernatural's powers." The guild hall went silent as everyone digested this new information. So if Lucy had fed from any one of them, she would have adopted some of their powers?

"Please continue, Jellal," the Master said and Jellal nodded as he realized everyone was hanging on his every word.

"If Lucy were to feed from me, for instance, she would most likely gain some power over light, seeing as I have an affinity with it. If she were to feed from someone like Erza, though, even though she is a Valkyrie, she would stay the same since Erza's powers aren't like most of ours," Jellal explained patiently.

"So if she were to feed from Juvia," Gray began slowly, "she would gain some power over water?"

"That's correct," Jellal replied. "But there is a price for a vampire feeding from another supernatural who does not have a strong connection to their humanity, like Valkyries or witches."

"What is that?" Levy asked, afraid to know but more afraid not to.

"Addiction," Jellal said simply. "If Lucy were to feed from another supernatural, she would be like a drug addict, needing more and more to feel the buzz she would get from having another's powers coursing through her. Eventually, the need to feel that buzz would overwhelm her and she would become a creature that is despised and hated for its cruelty and sadism."

The guild hall fell silent once more at Jellal's admission. All of them had met Lucy at some point before she was kidnapped, and none of them could imagine her as a diabolical creature who only lived to feed from others. Natsu was seething quietly as Makarov spoke up once more.

"Then we need to go get her before she is put in such a position to need to feed," he stated quite seriously. "Fairy Tail never leaves a member alone, especially not in the hands of a mad man like Jose Porla. Everyone, we are leaving. Gajeel, please lead the way to Phantom Lord. We won't let them have our girls for another day."

At the Master's proclamation, an enthusiastic shout rose up from those gathered in the hall. They were going to rescue their girls, and pay Phantom Lord back a thousand times for the wrongs they had made. No one hurt Fairy Tail and got away with it.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Yay I'm not dead! So I am incredibly sorry for this ridiculously late chapter. I have been dealing with some things the past few months that not only prevented me from writing, but completely drained me of my will to write. But I'm back now and I am going to finish this story. As usual, I hope everyone enjoyed this newest chapter and I own nothing. :)


	12. Chapter 11

Evading Destiny Chapter 11

Lucy and Juvia both glared dangerously at Porla as more light filtered into the dungeon, illuminating their horrible situation further. All around them were more chains and the room itself was incredibly huge; it could probably fit Laxus, Gajeel, and Natsu's dragon forms with some room to spare. Porla probably kept a single person in the room at a time to make them feel completely alone; he was sadistic like that.

"Princess I must admit you have far more restraint than I do," Porla said with a smile as he finally came to a stop a few feet away from the two women, "I would have drained Juvia dry by now."

Lucy refused to speak, her black eyes full of rage as she stared the older vampire down. Juvia, on the other hand, had no problem telling him exactly what she thought of him.

"You are a despicable person," Juvia practically spat at Porla as she moved closer to Lucy in a show of solidarity, "How could you do this to Lucy and Juvia? Juvia used to be one of your members! How can you treat others in such a horrible manner? Release us at once!"

Porla just chuckled at Juvia's indignation.

"You used to be so emotionless, Juvia," Porla said as he took another step towards the women, "What happened to you? You used to be one of my favorites before you and that dragon ran away."

"Juvia and Gajeel figured out what a completely horrible person you are and could no longer work for you! Gajeel and Juvia are honorable people and our new guild will come to save Juvia and Lucy and you will regret ever taking us," Juvia shouted passionately. Lucy's eyes widened in surprise and appreciation for the naiad beside her, although Lucy was finding it now even harder to fight against her own instincts; she direly needed blood. Sometimes being a vampire sucked.

"Oh I certainly hope so," Porla said with a vicious smile on his face, "I would so love to see Makarov again…"

Lucy and Juvia exchanged concerned looks at that. Did their Master really know Porla? It made sense due to the fact they both ran guilds, but the anticipatory glint in the sadistic vampire's eyes put them on edge. Was he planning on fighting back against Fairy Tail's retaliation? Before they could try and inquire further, they heard a resounding crashing sound, followed by the most furious roar any of them had ever heard.

Juvia gasped as she heard the roar, even as she looked over to see Lucy's expression, only to watch in awe as both her fangs and claws lengthened dramatically; the blonde looked positively terrifying once again. Her claws were at least three inches long now and her fangs were probably an inch and a half long; Juvia wondered if this was Lucy's true form as a vampire and thought that if it was, it was incredibly intimidating.

"Did you hear that, Jose?" Lucy asked with a cheerful, conversational tone that was highly contradictory to the fangs, claws, and killer glare she had going on, "That would be a dragon. Have you ever met one? They're incredibly majestic creatures, especially the one who just called out for your blood." Juvia gasped again as Lucy's expression took on an even more vicious edge. "I hope you're ready to meet my dragon, Porla, because Natsu's going to tear you apart."

Porla's eyes widened in shock and a bit of fear at Lucy's exclamation before he looked up towards the sounds of fighting going on in his guild hall and home. Juvia smiled, proud of Lucy, as Porla's already pallor skin grew even whiter as he listened to everything going on before he rushed out of the dungeon.

"Juvia," Lucy started as she looked at the blue-haired woman beside her, "I want you to get out of here and see if you can find me some blood. I desperately want to help my dragon burn this place to the ground." Juvia's grin widened as she quickly called upon her powers over water and made the water act like claws upon her fingers. She slashed through the chain holding her ankle and stood, stretching her arms above her head and briefly wondering why she hadn't done this previously. Probably because she hadn't had a chance to since Porla came in as she and Lucy were talking.

"Juvia will get you some blood, Lucy, and then she and Lucy will help their friends kick some Phantom Lord ass," Juvia told her as she waved at Lucy and then made her way out of the dungeon, leaving the vampire chained to the wall since that was what she knew Lucy wanted. "Juvia will be back as soon as she can be. Don't worry, Lucy. We will get out of here." With that, Juvia raced up the stairs, leaving the blonde behind.

"I'm coming, Natsu," Lucy whispered as she watched the blue-haired naiad disappear. "Just remember to leave some for me."

* * *

Natsu was feeling impatient. Master Makarov had rallied everyone what felt like ages ago to go fight Phantom Lord and get Lucy and Juvia back, but here they were, still sitting in the guild hall. Natsu figured they were doing something, like making sure everyone who was going was there, but he didn't want to wait any longer; Lucy had been kidnapped long enough.

"How long is this going to take?" Natsu heard a discontented Gray ask as the frost giant came to stand beside him.

"Patience, gentlemen," the soft spoken fallen angel commented as he came to join the two other men as they watched the rest of their guild rush around figuring out who was going and who was staying.

"I'm tired of waiting," Natsu growled rather ferociously as Gray nodded in agreement.

"Juvia should never have been taken," Gray said, his voice equally as angry as Natsu's.

"Neither of them should have been taken," Jellal said amicably. He smiled at the men then as Makarov finally shouted out for everyone to gather around again.

"We are leaving! Gajeel is going to lead us to Phantom Lord. Laxus, Mira, Natsu, Gray, Jellal, Erza, and Levy will all be coming to Phantom Lord to get our girls back and everyone else will be staying here to hold down the guild," the Master said as he looked at them all.

Murmurs of agreement and some grumbling of wanting to go too rose but Makarov very quickly put the kibosh on that as he glared at the men and women he considered to be his children. He had never been so furious in his life over something another guild master had done, especially one he used to work with so closely. Jose Porla was about to discover just what a bad idea it was to mess with his family.

"Erza, I need you to adopt a winged armor. Mira, the same goes for you, adopt your winged form. As for you, Levy," the Master started but was quickly shut down by Gajeel interrupting.

"The Shrimp will be riding on my back," the iron dragon shifter growled. Levy flashed him an irritated look that spoke volumes about how much she hated him ordering her around, but she nodded when the Master glanced at her for confirmation.

"Gray, I know you don't have a form that allows you some flight," Makarov stated as he looked at the frost giant, "so we need to figure out what we're going to do."

"…he can ride on my back," Natsu said quietly and rather irritably as everyone else gaped at him. Natsu _hated_ Gray. Apparently when it came to Lucy, though, Natsu would do anything for her.

"Okay," the Master said, still looking incredibly shocked at Natsu's willingness to help Gray. He wondered briefly if Natsu was growing up before his eyes. Then he caught the eye of his grandson and an understanding passed between them which caused Makarov's eyes to widen even further.

"Let's go already!" Natsu finally shouted as Makarov spoke without actually speaking to his grandson. Gajeel grunted in agreement and then walked out of the guild hall, followed closely by Levy, Mira, Gray, Erza and Jellal. Natsu followed soon after, but not before he looked questioningly at Laxus and Makarov.

"What does it mean?" Makarov asked Laxus as the blonde haired man stepped closer to him, eyeing the door to their guild hall to make sure no one overheard them.

"His dragon is close to the surface and helping him make the best decisions for Lucy," Laxus said with a shrug. "It is something that happens to all shifters when they find the one meant for them and they don't claim them."

"What do you mean, claim them?" Makarov asked, his brow furrowed. Typically, he didn't have to ask his grandson anything when it came to other supernaturals, but in this, he was completely clueless.

"Mark her as his," Laxus grunted even as a small blush appeared high on his cheekbones. Makarov choked on his own spit at that as images filled his head that he _never_ wanted to impose themselves on his brain.

"Does he…?" Makarov trailed off as he tried his hardest to banish the…terrible thoughts from his mind.

"No," Laxus said rather sharply, "Did you really think _Natsu_ would know what he's feeling? The man's a complete moron…" Makarov just shook his head as he heard the impatient roar of two dragons. He sighed as the walls of the guild hall shook from the immense volume.

"We'd better get going," Makarov said with a sigh as he and Laxus exited the building. Upon their exit, they saw Mira in what she called her "Satan Soul" form, Erza in her Black Wing armor, and Jellal in his glory, his dark gray feathery wings out on display for the world to see. But what was even more impressive were the two incredibly large dragons that somehow both fit in the parking lot.

"Let's go!" Makarov shouted as he climbed atop Laxus's transformed self. Levy was already seated firmly between two crags of spikes on Gajeel's back and Gray was clinging quite fearfully to Natsu's back. Everyone immediately took off as soon as Gajeel was airborne and made their way swiftly towards Phantom Lord's guild hall. They _were_ going to get their girls back and give the other guild hell.

What felt like hours to Natsu but was in reality only about an hour later, Gajeel landed on a mountain outcropping a short distance away from a large castle. He quickly transformed, catching Levy as she fell from his back with a surprised shriek, and waited for everyone else to land beside him. Natsu was the first to land, grumbling in his dragon form about stopping when they weren't there yet, while Gray slid from his back with a shudder. Apparently riding a dragon with minimal spikes was rather scary.

"Why have we stopped?" Erza asked as she landed beside a grim looking Jellal and an intrigued Mira. Laxus and Makarov landed shortly afterwards, both of them looking at Gajeel with curiosity.

Gajeel rolled his eyes as Natsu let out a growling protest about not wanting to wait anymore. Levy looked at him curiously from where she was curled against his chest, but Gajeel didn't answer her unspoken question.

"We have to form a battle plan, genius," Gajeel grunted with another eye roll before he gestured towards the castle that held his former guild, "Look at that place. It's literally a fortress. We need a plan of attack."

Everyone else murmured in agreement and the Master praised Gajeel for his foresight, but Natsu refused to be patient any longer. His vampire had been missing for far too long and he wasn't about to wait for the older members of his guild to come up with some stupid plan that wasn't even necessary. And before anyone could do much more than gape, Natsu was taking off at full speed towards the castle.

"Or we could do that," Mira said with a cheerful tone as they all watched Natsu literally crash into the side of the castle, his entire body on fire, as he roared his displeasure at the world.

"Well there goes the element of surprise," Gray said with a sigh as he stripped off his shirt unconsciously.

"Oh I'd say they're pretty surprised," Levy commented dryly as Gajeel shifted her to his back and shifted into his dragon form again, "But it seems it's time to go." At that, Laxus and Gajeel both took off, followed by Jellal and the girls. Which left Gray alone on the mountain's outcropping.

"Hey!" Gray shouted, waving his arms as he noticed Mira and Erza turn. They both blushed at having forgotten him and returned.

"I am sorry, my brother," Erza told Gray, "Please hit me in retribution."

"Um no," Gray sweat dropped, "That's okay. How am I supposed to get over there?"

"I'll carry you!" Mira cried enthusiastically as she scooped Gray up bridal style. Before Gray could do more than let out a very manly shriek, Mira and Erza were off at full speed, heading for the castle and their dragons who were already leading the charge.

* * *

Juvia could hear the sounds of the fighting as she rushed away from the dungeon that had held her and Lucy. Part of her was itching to get into the fight, to dole out some punishment for kidnapping her and her new friend, Lucy. But the other part of her knew she couldn't just leave Lucy behind. Not only was Lucy her fellow guild member and new friend, but she deserved to be a part of the attack happening. So Juvia ran, trying to remember exactly where the kitchen was.

After several moments and what felt like a great many hallways and wrong turns, Juvia came to a screeching halt in the large room Porla called a kitchen. High end black stainless steel appliances sat on metal countertops all around the room. Deep cherry colored cabinets were mounted to the walls and under the countertops. It was a very odd combination and Juvia realized Porla must have remodeled since she had last been there.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing here?" a man cried out as Juvia came to a stop in the middle of the kitchen.

"There's a rival guild attacking the hall!" Juvia cried, trying to play off her sudden appearance as fear. Juvia hoped that maybe she could convince this man that she was also a member of Phantom Lord and possibly avoid a fight so she could get back to Lucy sooner.

"Is that what that sound was?" the man asked, his eyes widening in fear, "We have to get out of here then!"

"But what about the master?" Juvia said, momentarily stunned by this man's seeming disloyalty to the one who ran his guild. She couldn't imagine abandoning Master Makarov if their home was ever attacked.

"Who gives a damn about Porla? That bastard is just wrong. I'm getting out while I can," and with a disgusted snort the man took off running out of the kitchen. Juvia thought it was admirable that the man recognized Porla was an evil being, but at the same time she was utterly revolted by his changing loyalties and the fact that Porla being evil didn't bother him enough to leave before the attack.

Juvia quickly searched through the refrigerator and cabinets and found nothing. She felt some despair enter her heart at the thought that Porla would probably not keep any blood on hand because he took from other creatures so willingly. As Juvia began to wonder what she was going to do, the wall that held the stove exploded. With a shriek, Juvia put her arms over her head and knelt down to take cover.

"Who is in there?" Erza cried out as she hefted a sword above her head and surveyed the unconscious Phantom Lord member beneath her feet and the practically demolished kitchen.

"Erza!" Juvia cried out as she rose from her position. Erza smiled hugely when she heard the blue-haired naiad and rushed in to embrace her friend.

"Juvia! I am so glad you're alright!" Erza said as another figure appeared in the hole she had made.

"Juvia?" Levy asked incredulously as she followed Erza through the gigantic hole in the kitchen's wall.

"Juvia is so glad to see her fellow Fairy Tail members!" Juvia cried out as she grabbed Levy and dragged her into the hug with Erza. The red head and the other blue-haired woman both gasped and strained to get out of Juvia's hold as they listened to the three dragons roaring in the background.

"Where is Lucy?" Levy was finally able to ask once Juvia released her and the Valkyrie.

"Juvia forgot about Lucy!" Juvia wailed as tears began to fill her eyes and water began to gather around their feet. Both Erza and Levy shared a startled look and Erza shook Juvia gently.

"Where is she?" Erza inquired of the rather distraught naiad.

"Juvia was supposed to bring her blood but Juvia couldn't find any blood! Porla doesn't keep blood on hand like most vampires!" Juvia blubbered as the water level in the room continued to rise.

"Um…Juvia," Levy murmured, "Maybe you should take us to see Lucy."

"Why didn't Juvia think of that!" the woman cried out as she grabbed both Erza and Levy by their wrists and began dragging them out of the kitchen and down several hallways and through multiple doors that just led to more hallways.

"Juvia where are we going!" Erza finally asked as she wrenched her wrist out of Juvia's grasp. She stood in her Black Wing armor staring down the naiad while Levy looked on apprehensively.

"Juvia is taking you to Lucy. Maybe since Levy and Erza are more human, they could help Lucy?" Juvia asked hopefully, her blue eyes wide and guileless. Erza and Levy exchanged a very concerned glance at that and nodded to Juvia to lead the way.

Juvia led the two women down a few more hallways before she came to a halt in front of the door that led to the dungeon holding Lucy.

"Please prepare yourselves," Juvia said lowly, her eyes filling with tears once more, "Porla has done…terrible things to our Lucy."

"Lucy?" Erza called out rather softly once the three women entered the dungeon. The lighting seemed to have gone out since Juvia had left and so they could barely see more than a foot in front of their faces. With careful steps, the women descended the stairs, listening for any sound that might indicate Lucy heard them. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Erza called out for Lucy again.

"This is stupid!" Levy suddenly hissed, "I'm a witch! Why are we looking for our vampire in the dark?!" With a quiet incantation, light illuminated the dank conditions their friend had been held in. When their eyes had finally adjusted to the sudden lightening of the room, Erza and Levy let out identical, horrified gasps while Juvia just grimaced. Never had they seen someone look so beaten and utterly tortured.

"Lucy?" Levy asked as she walked slowly forward, reaching out a trembling hand to the blonde chained against the wall. Tears spilled over her eyes when Lucy didn't respond.

"Jose Porla will pay for what he has done," Erza said, her voice quivering with rage.

"We need to help Lucy first," Levy said, swiping at the tears running down her face as she kneeled in front of the vampire. With her still shaky hands, Levy reached forward and pressed her fingers against Lucy's neck, praying desperately she would feel a pulse there. It was not even a second after she had pushed her finger's against her friend's neck when Lucy's eyes flew open. Taking in the feral gaze of the petite blonde, Levy reeled back at the unexpected sign of life.

"Get away from me," Lucy croaked out as her focus landed on the little witch.

"Lucy we are here to help you," Erza said as she moved forward, too. Juvia was a bit more hesitant, staying about fifteen feet away in case the vampire snapped like she had already mentioned to the naiad before.

"You need to stay away," Lucy told them, her voice still hoarse, "I don't want to hurt you." That's when her gaze landed on Juvia, and her black eyes seemed to shine with hope as she looked at the blue-haired woman. But Juvia just sadly shook her head and the light in Lucy's eyes died just as quickly as it had appeared.

"You need blood," Erza said sternly, "We were not able to find any bagged blood and we have been told you gain strength and heal more quickly when you take from a live source. Please, Lucy, take some from me." Then, with the other women watching her with wide eyes, Erza knelt right in front of Lucy's chained form and made the armored glove from around her left wrist disappear and a small dagger appear in her right hand.

"I can't ask you to do that," Lucy said, shaking her head as fear entered her eyes, "I can't take from other supernaturals. That's a slippery slope and not one I want to go down. Please, Erza, I could seriously hurt you." Lucy's eyes plead with Erza as the scarlet haired woman raised the knife and then brought it slashing down across her own wrist in a horizontal motion before she sent the blade back to its own dimension. Levy and Juvia both cried out at the sudden movement while Lucy's eyes locked immediately on the blood beginning to bubble up from the cut.

"You are my friend, my comrade in arms," Erza said softly as she scooted as close to Lucy as possible with the other woman still chained, "I am not afraid. You will not hurt me and you will not become addicted to me since I am not that kind of supernatural." Erza smiled then as she raised her bleeding wrist to Lucy's mouth.

Lucy was able to hold out for about two minutes before the hunger, pain, and overwhelming need became far too great for her to handle and she sank her fangs into the offered wrist and drank deeply. Erza grimaced slightly as Lucy's fangs pierced her already tender flesh, but she knew this was what her friend needed. She placed her gloved hand on top of Lucy's blonde head and ran her fingers through her friend's matted hair as Juvia and Levy looked on in a mixture of fascination and concern; they both knew just how injured Lucy was and they did not want Erza to get hurt because of it.

"That's enough, Lucy," Erza said sternly after a few moments. The vampire's skin was already less blemished, the cuts were closing completely, and the bruises were losing their depth of color. Erza thought she might have to fight Lucy to get her to let go, but she was already gently removing her fangs when Erza spoke.

"Thank you," Lucy said almost too quietly to be heard. Erza just smiled when she waved the other women forward and Juvia quickly released Lucy from her chains. Erza pressed her hand against her bleeding wrist when Lucy knelt in front of her, eyes aflame with concern. "Please let me close that," she asked the Valkyrie. With an interested raising of her eyebrow, Erza gave her wrist back to Lucy and the vampire smiled in reassurance as she leaned down, pricked her tongue against her own fang, and then licking the wound over, mixing her own blood with that of Erza's.

In fascination, the other three women watched as Lucy's blood did its job and knit the Valkyrie's skin back together almost instantaneously.

"That's amazing," Levy breathed as she watched Erza stretch and flex her arm before the red head grinned and reequipped her armored glove.

Lucy smiled at her guild mates' astonishment and then rose on unsteady feet before her legs buckled beneath her. Before she could fall, though, Erza had caught the blonde and placed her gently back down on the ground.

"You need more blood," Erza commented seriously even as she knew she could offer no more without serious repercussions to herself.

"Lucy take some from me," Levy said passionately as she stepped forward and wrapped her arm around the blonde. "I'm like Erza, too; you won't get addicted to my blood."

"I don't want to take anything more from my friends," Lucy said quite seriously. "I am so thankful and grateful for all of you and your help, but I will not take any more blood from you. I can get by enough to wait on bagged blood back at home."

Levy, Juvia, and Erza exchanged smiles at the fact Lucy already referred to Fairy Tail as their home, but they wanted to do more for her. Before they could say anything more, though, the ceiling exploded and a great dragon came roaring down on top of an incredibly small figure. Erza dragged them all out of the way of the explosion as the four looked on in incredulity as the dragon and the figure, revealed to be Jose Porla in his vampire form, started fighting before their very eyes.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Yay new chapter! I could definitely make excuses about why this is later than I had ever intended, but I won't. Life happens and this fan fiction happens to be pretty far down on my list of priorities, as much as I truly enjoy writing it. The school year is seriously days away from me and I've been preparing for my newest classes and groups of students and just loving married life with my husband and my new puppy. :) I'm thinking that, despite wanting to continue this, I will probably stop this fan fiction with the next chapter just because I don't like feeling like I'm letting anyone down with my incredibly rare updates. As always, I do not own Fairy Tail, just this story. Please review if you enjoyed this newest chapter to let me know!


	13. Chapter 12

Evading Destiny Chapter 12

"Wow," Lucy breathed as she watched the dragon she knew intuitively to be Natsu fight Porla, "He's so beautiful…"

Erza, Levy, and Juvia had to agree with Lucy's assessment as they all watched the fight in awe. Natsu's dragon form was just as incredible as Gajeel's, Laxus's, or even Wendy's, but they all had to admit there was something _more_ about Natsu's form. The deep red color of Natsu's scales matched the color of blood almost perfectly and his body was fairly streamlined. His large wings were folded against his body at the moment, but the Fairy Tail girls knew once they were unfurled that they would be large and take up a great amount of space. Spikes graced the joints of each of his limbs and his tail while deadly looking claws tipped each of his feet and rear facing horns were at the top of his skull. Unlike Laxus and Gajeel, though, Natsu did not have many spines down his back at all, maybe four or five total from the back of his head to just before his wings. There had always been something about Natsu's dragon form that the others lacked, though; it was almost like Natsu's passion for life and everything in general always showed through.

The girls watched rather breathlessly as Natsu and Jose fought and they couldn't help but liken the fight to watching a gnat try and take on a wolf. Porla's size in comparison to Natsu's was just so small but he was somehow still holding his own as what looked like darkness given form covered his hands. Every time Jose made contact with Natsu, the dragon shifter would roar in pain and Lucy would wince and clasp her hands to her heart in response, as though she knew just how painful it was. Natsu, however, seemed to be just getting more enraged whenever Porla's fist connected with his body.

"Erza!" the girls all turned from where they had been enthralled with Natsu's fight to see Gray, looking aghast at the Valkyrie. As if in slow motion, they turned to where they could see a ball of fire heading towards the red head. It was as though they all knew there was no way Erza could move out of the way without getting hit. As she braced herself for the hit, though, suddenly there was someone there, folding her into his arms, wrapping his wings around her, and turning them both so he took the brunt of the attack.

"Jellal?" Erza whispered as she looked up at the angel's pained smile from the cradle of his arms and the cover of his wings.

"You disappeared on me, Erza," Jellal said rather sternly through his pain, "You had me worried."

"I apologize," she said softly as they seemed to be wrapped up in their own little world for the moment.

"Erza for the love of Odin or whoever your god is, get the hell down!" they both stiffened as they heard Gray's furious voice shout and Jellal turned to see more fire headed their way. Without another moment's hesitation, he threw them both to the ground as he used his wings to cushion the fall. More pain raced through him at that, but it would always be worth it to him since he was keeping Erza from pain.

"My dear Gray!" Juvia cried as she noticed Gray racing down the stairs and sending ice attacks towards the black and white haired man aiming attacks at their friends. "Totomaru!" she then yelled angrily when she noticed who was attacking her family, "You must stop this!"

"You turned your back on Phantom Lord," the fire user cried as he launched attack after attack at Juvia and Gray while Levy shoved Lucy down and got down beside her and Jellal continued to bodily shield Erza.

"Porla is a deviant!" Juvia cried as she started launching volley after volley of attacks with Gray at Totomaru, "He does not deserve your loyalty and neither does this terrible guild for what Porla has had you do! You used to be an honorable man, a good man, Totomaru! Don't let Porla change who you are because he is a despicable excuse for a person!"

Totomaru looked shocked at Juvia's passionate outburst and his shock cost him as Gray nailed him in the chest with a block of ice. Totomaru hit the floor and was knocked unconscious from the force of the blow as everyone turned their attention back to Natsu and Porla's fight.

Porla was obviously beginning to tire and had many cuts from Natsu's claws as well as burns. Natsu looked much better, only a few spots of darker red where Porla had managed to hit him, but he had righteous rage on his side and didn't even show any signs of beginning to tire.

"Do we help?" Levy asked as she helped Lucy stand. Gray had already made it down the bottom of the stairs and was looking Juvia over for any injuries while speaking softly to her, occasionally placing his hand against her cheek. For her part, Juvia looked like she was in heaven as Gray doted on her and it made Levy smile. Erza was standing, having switched out of her Black Wing armor to her more typical outfit of a white tank top and blue skirt as she looked Jellal over. Levy grimaced as she noticed Jellal's wings were incredibly damaged from the barrage of fire that had hit him.

"I think Natsu has this handled," Lucy said quietly as she looked with anguished eyes over her fellow Fairy Tail members. Juvia's being kidnapped and Jellal's being hurt was all her fault. If she had never joined Fairy Tail, then they never would have come to save her and none of this would have ever happened; everyone would be back at the guild hall, happy and healthy.

"Natsu!" Lucy suddenly cried as she noticed Porla fly back and aim a blast of dark energy at the dragon shifter's side. With a pained roar, Natsu fell on his side at the impact. His dark eyes were furious as he got back up, but he had heard Lucy's cry and his gaze found hers from across the room. Tears pricked the edges of her eyes as she saw Natsu in such pain, but then her breath was taken away as Natsu's eyes widened. With a sudden blast of intuition she had never felt before, she knew Natsu had not expected to see her so battered. The intelligence that had lit his eyes when he had first noticed her was suddenly gone, swallowed up by such a primal rage that Lucy shivered and was suddenly incredibly fearful for Porla, despite all the other vampire had done to her.

"Something's wrong," Levy whispered to Lucy as they watched Natsu get back into the fight with, seemingly impossibly, more rage than before. His entire body was on fire now and practically every swipe of his claws made contact with Porla and the vampire was backpedaling more and more as he tried to get away from the dragon's anger.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked in response as she watched Natsu with a bizarre mixture of fear and admiration. He truly was an excellent fighter, even in his dragon form, and watching him was oddly beautiful.

"Something's wrong," Levy repeated as her brow furrowed and she watched the fight. Jellal limped over as Erza helped support him and they both nodded their agreement.

"Natsu has never fought with such blind ferocity before," Jellal said in response to Lucy's questioning glance, "It is as though once he saw how injured you are, all reason fled. He will kill Jose Porla if this continues."

"What?" Lucy questioned, aghast, as all color bled from her face.

"You mean much to Natsu," Erza told Lucy quietly, "and you are so injured you can barely stand alone. He knows that Porla is the man who has hurt you, and he wants to avenge you. He will not stop until he feels Porla has gotten what he deserves."

"I don't want Natsu to be a murderer," Lucy said, even more alarmed than before.

"It is a justified killing," they all turned, surprised, as they heard Laxus speak. A solemn looking Makarov stood beside his grandson and wife as Mira shifted rather uncomfortably.

"But I don't want Natsu to kill him!" Lucy said passionately, taking everyone by surprise. "Natsu should not have to sully his hands just for my sake!"

"You don't understand," Jellal said as he looked the vampire in the eye, "Natsu is protecting you. He is protecting your honor, your dignity, your life. He does not believe he is doing anything wrong, and in truth he is not. He is just protecting you."

"But I don't want him to kill Jose," Lucy said rather desperately, "He's not worth it. Jose Porla is not worth getting blood on Natsu's hands. I don't want this."

"Then tell him," Laxus said as Gajeel came down the stairs to stand beside Levy. "If he hears from you that you don't want that despicable man's death, he should listen."

"But he's beyond reason," Gray said as he took in Natsu's rage during the fight, watching his friend's large foot hit Porla and send the vampire flying backwards into another wall of the dungeon. Everyone winced in response as they heard something crack in Porla's body.

"He will never be too far gone for Lucy to reach," Mira piped up with a smile, "He will _always_ listen to her."

"Do you think so?" Lucy asked nervously as she watched Porla struggling to stand and the great dragon that was Natsu stalking towards him, the fire on his body receding until there was nothing left of the fire aside from a smoky smell lingering in the dungeon.

"Yes," Gajeel grunted, "But you better be fast, Bunny Girl. I'd say you only have until as long as it takes Natsu to get to him."

With a gasp as she saw Natsu pick Porla up in his claws and slam him against the wall, Lucy moved, faster than she had ever moved before and shocking everyone with her speed despite her many injuries still apparent on her body. One moment she was still standing beside Levy and the next she was standing beside a reared up Natsu, his maw with its forest of fangs inches away from Porla.

"Natsu! Stop!" Lucy cried as she gently placed her left hand on Natsu's hind leg. Her cry seemed to rouse him from his anger as he turned his head to look at her. A rumbling sound came from deep in his throat, seemingly asking her what she wanted and everyone held their breath as they waited for what Lucy would say.

"He's not worth it," the blonde told Natsu. "Let the authorities take care of him. But please…he's not worth it."

Natsu's head cocked to the side as he listened to Lucy and his dragon self could not fathom why she wouldn't want the other vampire dead. Jose Porla had obviously hurt her. Porla had taken her from their bed, held her captive, and tortured her brutally. Natsu could smell the old blood on her, even if the cuts were no longer visible. He could see the dried blood and see the bruises that were still visible against her pale skin. Natsu had never wanted to hurt someone so much in his life as he looked at the blonde he instinctively knew was his; he wanted more than to just hurt Porla, he wanted to _destroy_ him. But that's not what his blonde wanted, and it confused him immensely.

"Natsu…please don't kill Porla," Lucy said as her energy started to wane and she leaned against his strong body, "He's just not worth it. Let the authorities deal with him now. You found me, you've _saved_ me, Natsu. Please let him go now."

Another rumbling sound escaped Natsu's throat, and Lucy smiled as she understood what he said, "As you wish, Lucy." With a groan, Porla fell to the floor as Natsu released him. Then Lucy watched with fascination as Natsu's form changed. She sank to her knees on the floor as Natsu's human form came back into existence and he wavered on his feet.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked as he collapsed beside the female vampire. She smiled as she moved closer to him, took his head into her lap, and began to run her fingers through his hair, ignoring his nudity.

"I'm here, Natsu," she said softly as the other members of Fairy Tail moved forward to collect the members of Phantom Lord and lead the enemies away from the two's private moment.

"You were gone," Natsu said as he shut his eyes and enjoyed the feel of Lucy's hands in his hair and massaging his scalp.

"But you found me," she replied simply.

"Don't leave me again," Natsu told her in a rare moment of vulnerability as his eyes opened and locked with hers. Lucy's hands stilled in his hair as she stared deeply into his eyes and she smiled as his hand reached up and caressed her cheek. She leaned her head into his hand as she closed her eyes and breathed his scent in deeply.

"I won't," she promised.

* * *

It had been a long, exhausting week for the members of Fairy Tail. They had rescued Lucy and Juvia from the hands of their rival guild, Phantom Lord, and then had had to report to the Supernatural Council about everything that happened. Lucy probably had it the worst of them all because she had to be poked, prodded, photographed, and interviewed so many times that she actually lost her voice for a day. But the Council had ruled in Fairy Tail's, and Lucy's, favor and now Jose Porla was in prison. His lackeys who had kidnapped Juvia and Lucy were also serving time, though they wouldn't be serving for nearly as long as Porla; Porla would be in jail for the rest of his life, which being an immortal, would be as long as he continued wanting to live. The members of Fairy Tail thought he had gotten off easy, considering how murderous Natsu had been, but since Lucy had wanted Porla to go to prison, they all figured justice had been served.

Lucy spent the days after the interviews and sentencing of the members of Phantom Lord practically glued to Natsu's side. He refused to let her out of his sight and for about two days, he had even refused to sleep until finally he had crashed one day and slept until late that night. Lucy didn't seem to mind, though. She was starting to adapt quite well to being a member of Fairy Tail and she loved coming by the guild every night and then going home with Natsu before the sun rose every morning. She had already made fast friends with practically every girl in the guild, although if pressed Levy and Erza would probably be listed as her closest friends and that's where Lucy could usually be found when she and Natsu were in the guild.

"How's Jellal?" Lucy asked as she wandered over to where Erza, Levy, Mira, and Juvia were sitting while Natsu got involved in a brawl that was going on, those his eyes always seemed to find Lucy every few moments.

"He's healing up nicely," Erza responded with a tired smile. Jellal had insisted on healing alone, so while she checked up on him every day, he never let her stay and help him. It was obviously wearing on the Valkyrie, but everyone knew she would always respect Jellal's wishes. The poor fallen angel had lost many of his feathers on his wings from shielding Erza during the fight and the burns on his backs where his wings had not kept him safe were just beginning to scab over.

"How much longer do you think he'll be out of commission?" Mira asked as she reached over and squeezed Erza's hand in a show of solidarity.

"When I spoke to him earlier he said he would most likely be fully healed by the end of this next week. I guess it should be expected since not all supernaturals heal at the same rate," Erza said with a sigh as she used her free hand to rub tiredly across her face.

"Two weeks isn't that terrible of a heal time, though, Erza," Levy told the red head with a smile.

"You're right," Erza said with a smile in response, "How are you doing, Lucy? Is that donor we lined up for you working well?"

"Oh yeah!" Lucy said with a smile as she thought of the donor they found, a young woman named Lyddie. The woman was very sweet and came by three times a week for quick ten-minute feeding sessions. Initially Natsu had been very angry about it, but when he realized Lyddie was a woman he was suddenly okay with it again.

"And you're fully healed now?" Juvia asked with all seriousness.

"Aside from a few bruises left over from Porla's extra powers, I'm totally fine," Lucy said with a smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. The other women knew just how tortured Lucy had been and they wished they could take away the memories that had to be still floating around in her head.

"That's great news!" Mira said as the others nodded, "In fact, I think we should celebrate the fact that Lucy is almost completely healed and Jellal is on the mend!" With that, she stood and practically glided away to the bar, where she stopped for just a moment to plant a sweet kiss on her husband's lips.

"She's so full of energy," Levy said with a giggle as she then turned wistful eyes towards a certain brooding metal dragon shifter currently sulking in the corner of the guild hall.

"He'll man up eventually," Lucy said with a rather impish smile when she caught Levy's gaze.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Levy spluttered as she tore her gaze away from Gajeel.

"Strawberry shortcake and freshly squeezed lemonade!" Mira said in a singsong voice when she returned with a tray laden with a pitcher, a sliced loaf of angel cake, a bowl of strawberries, and a bowl of freshly whipped cream.

"Cake?" Erza asked with a rather maniacal glint in her eye.

"You have to share," Mira said with a motherly sternness as she started serving everyone, "Everyone gets at least one piece before you devour the rest."

Erza sat back and eyed everyone dangerously and the cake morosely. With nervous giggles, Levy, Lucy, and Juvia all offered Erza their portions. With a beatific smile, Erza graciously accepted and then began chowing down with such gusto that the girls all felt they should lean back a bit. Mira shook her head disgustedly at the Valkyrie but then served everyone their lemonade.

"You should have known better than to bring cake," Levy said with a giggle as she sipped her lemonade.

"Well there's always hope," Mira said with a sigh as she sat down again.

"So…I had a question," Lucy piped up rather suddenly as the women had begun chatting about the latest missions they had been on.

"Yes?" Mira said interestedly.

"Is there a map of the country anywhere that I could use?" Lucy said, nervously fiddling in her seat.

"Of course! I can't believe I haven't showed it to you yet!" Levy said, smacking her hand against her forehead. "It's in the library."

The two girls then stood, waved at the others seated at the table, and then, making sure Lucy caught Natsu's eye and gestured she was leaving with Levy, headed for the library.

"Oh this is fantastic!" Lucy said as she threw her arms wide and spun around in the library with a laugh, "I can't wait to start reading in here!"

"Just calm down while we look at the map," Levy chided jokingly before unrolling a large map and showing Lucy all of the various landmarks and cities she had visited. Lucy smiled and nodded and joked whenever was appropriate, but then Levy had to leave.

"Are you okay staying in here by yourself?" Levy asked.

"Of course! I'm surrounded by books!" Lucy said with a smile. Levy smiled in return and then waved as she headed out with her team for a mission they had just taken.

As soon as Levy and her team were out of eye sight and earshot, Lucy immediately started looking around for different ways out of the library and she smiled when she saw the large window on the second floor. Her eyes roamed the map until she felt she had memorized it and then she let her power flow freely over her. Her wings unraveled and she had to admit that it was just as wonderful a feeling now as it had been when she had abandoned her home days earlier. Now she just had to make sure she really had the courage to go back there.

With a rather resigned sigh, she flew up to the second floor, opened the window, and took off into the night. She knew she was leaving Natsu behind without telling him, but she also knew that this next step had to be something she did by herself. She thought of Natsu and how he had not given up to find her and that filled her with courage as she thought of the upcoming confrontation with her father. But it had to be done. She would never let someone hurt her Fairy Tail family again.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I am just in awe of everyone's reactions from the last chapter. I now have 100 reviews and it feels _amazing!_ While I know that I will not be updating as often as I would like, I really can't imagine letting go of this story yet. I love it way too much to stop writing it and with everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited, I feel pretty certain you guys aren't ready to let go of it either! So as usual I own nothing and I will see you guys next chapter! ;)


	14. Chapter 13

Evading Destiny Chapter 13

Lucy started feeling worse and worse about leaving Natsu behind as she flew back to her father's mansion, the place that had been her home all of her life until she met the pink haired man. Her heart felt heavy in her chest as she flew away from the man who unknowingly held a prominent place there. But what else was she supposed to do? She had brought pain to her Fairy Tail family, to Jellal and Erza, to Juvia and Gray, to Natsu… She couldn't just let that stand. It was _her_ _father_ and his instructions that had led to them being attacked in such a manner; she wouldn't let him get away with it.

Lucy flew for a few hours before she realized she was only moments away from the mansion that had once held such happiness and joy. As she looked at the mansion with older eyes, she couldn't help but see the gloom that seemed to hang so persistently over the place. Her eyes wandered over the expansive house, taking in the sight of the windows she once loved looking out of. The roses that lined the driveway up to the mansion proper had been planted by her mother, and her father had always done his best to keep them in bloom. Lucy could only look at them for a moment before the hurt was too great and she had to look away.

Her father had once loved her so dearly, just as much as he had loved Layla. But when she had passed on…it was as though Lucy had ceased to exist for him. The moment Layla had taken her last breath, Lucy's fate as a forgotten, unwanted daughter had begun. It hurt her immensely to think that the man who had once looked after her so dotingly and lovingly could have turned so cold and had caused the pain her Fairy Tail family was feeling.

As she stood on the sidelines of the driveway, she heard a woman shout her name. Startled, Lucy broke herself free of her reverie and noticed Mrs. Spetto, one of her maids, racing towards her with tears running down her face. Lucy barely had time to brace herself before Mrs. Spetto was upon her and wrapping her in a hug and sobbing. The older woman was quickly followed by several of Lucy's other servants, all in varying states of distress and inquiring after her health and about why she had left so suddenly.

Lucy was only able to tell everyone she was fine before she was being dragged into the mansion, stripped of her clothes, shoved into a bath, and scrubbed clean. She sighed in bliss after she was left alone in the tub; she loved her new home with Natsu, but she definitely missed being able to just soak in the tub.

"Princess," Lucy jumped as her friend's monotone voice came drifting in. Lucy quickly cried out in delight when she realized Virgo really was there, her eyes averted respectfully and a comfortable looking robe in her arms.

"Oh Virgo!" Lucy said, her eyes full of unshed tears, as she climbed out of the tub and into the offered robe. As soon as it was tied securely, she embraced Virgo warmly. "I missed you! How have things been going here? Was everyone else mad that I left?"

"Of course we were mad, brat," Lucy's eyes widened again when she heard her other friend, Aquarius, speak. She turned in even greater surprise and gasped as she saw all ten of her friends standing in her large bathroom. She noticed Loke eyeing her appreciatively and wished Virgo had brought a little longer of a robe as she self-consciously pulled it down.

"How did you all get in here?!" Lucy asked incredulously as she looked at each of them in turn. Aries was smiling timidly, Aquarius looked annoyed as usual, Scorpio was smiling, Virgo was emotionless, Loke was smirking, Capricorn looked proud, Cancer was eyeing her dripping hair with something akin to disapproval, Taurus was drooling unabashedly at her robe covered body, Gemini were transforming rapidly between various forms of Lucy, including her current state, and Sagittarius was studiously looking away from her, his cheeks slightly red.

"We have our ways, Princess," Loke said as he stepped forward, bringing her right hand up to his lips for a soft kiss. Lucy rolled her eyes at his antics but couldn't help but feel happy all of them were here in this moment. She had missed them desperately.

"Why did you leave without telling us?" Gemini asked as they took on her true form. She shuddered slightly at that; she was always a little weirded out by the doppelgängers' abilities.

"It was…unplanned," Lucy said apologetically, "I just realized I couldn't marry him. I had to get away."

"We are glad you came to that realization," Capricorn said seriously as all of her other friends nodded. "We only want what's best for you." Lucy smiled in appreciation at that.

"And I'm very grateful for that," Lucy tried to start speaking but was quickly interrupted by Aquarius.

"Why are you back here? Don't you know your father has been looking for you to drag you back?" the mermaid asked irritably, though she did tone her anger down in deference to her honey, Scorpio.

"I have to talk to him," Lucy tried starting again, but she just sighed as her friends all started talking over her at once.

"You don't owe this man anything," Capricorn said, his tone conveying his distaste for Jude.

"Your hot body shouldn't be hidden away from the world!" Taurus cried passionately as Loke nodded in agreement. The others kept trying to talk as well, and Lucy was struggling to keep up with them.

"Princess," Virgo finally said, her monotone voice seeming to thunder over everyone else's despite her petite stature, "We have a gift for you."

"You do?" Lucy asked with surprise as she looked at each of her friends in turn. They all smiled encouragingly or nodded (irritably in Aquarius's case). "Why do you have a gift for me?"

"We have something incredibly special for you that only few in this world have ever had the opportunity to have. Sometimes humans possess the gift, other times supernaturals do. We give our gift to someone we judge to be worthy," Loke explained, his usually playful attitude quite serious.

"And you find me worthy?" Lucy asked, her voice quite small as she thought about what her gift could possibly be, and how she could possibly be worthy of such a gift.

"You are genuine and kind," Aries said, her cheeks reddening under Lucy's gaze.

"You are honest and true," Gemini said as they adopted her usual form.

"You are brave," Taurus spoke up, meeting Lucy's gaze head on.

"You stand up for what you believe in," Sagittarius stated as Capricorn nodded his agreement.

"You protect those you care for and those you feel are in need," Scorpio said, for once abandoning his bizarre speech pattern. Suddenly Lucy felt all of her friends' eyes on her, and she felt very exposed as she met each of their gazes in turn, falling finally on Aquarius.

"You are worthy of our protection," the blue-haired mermaid told her, for once with no appearance of aggravation but instead a fierce determination and loyalty.

"Your protection?" Lucy whispered as she looked at each of her friends again. What did they mean? She was a vampire; she was fully capable of taking care of herself, although she had just been kidnapped…

"We are not like other supernaturals, Lucy," Loke said with a smile. "We are celestial spirits. We reside both here and among the stars. We ten, specifically, are part of the celestial zodiac. We each have our own powers and our own specialties, but we have deemed you worthy. We want to protect you and help keep you safe."

"I can't…" Lucy started, her throat beginning to close as sobs wanted to make their way out of her throat.

"You don't have to say anything," Aries said gently while the others nodded in assent. "We want this for you. We want to help you."

"I can't accept such a gift when I have given you nothing in return!" Lucy was finally able to say while tears streamed down her cheeks. "Your gift is too great for someone like me."

"You are our friend," Loke said, wrapping Lucy in a hug as she cried, "That is all we want. You are worthy of us." With that, her friends began to disappear in brilliant displays of light, smiles upon their faces, as Lucy watched in astonishment. As each one left, a bright, golden key took their place, each inscribed with their own personal mark, until finally only Virgo and Loke were left.

"This is our gift to you, Princess," Virgo said with a genuine smile upon her face for once. "Call upon us if you are ever in need," and with that, she too disappeared, leaving her own key in her place.

"What does she mean call on you?" Lucy said, slightly panicked. What was she supposed to do?! All of her friends were turning into keys!

Loke laughed as he took in Lucy's worried state, "It's nothing too complicated, Lucy. Just take whoever's key you want to call on, hold it in your hand, and call out their name. They will come to your aid, although we might also just visit from time to time." Lucy smiled at that and wiped the few tears that were still drying on her face.

"I would like that," she told Loke softly, "I am so glad I'm not going to lose you guys."

"You could never lose us, Lucy," Loke said as he embraced her as golden light started to shimmer into life around him, "You are far too precious to us." With that, he was gone, and in his place was a key with a symbol of the lion.

Lucy walked around the room, reverently picking up the keys that symbolized her friends and holding them to her chest. She was so glad she had them and she couldn't be more grateful for the gift they had given her.

* * *

Natsu was _bored_. _Bored, bored, bored, bored!_ Lucy and Levy had gone into the library what felt like _hours_ ago! Come to think of it, he had seen Levy leave with her team some time ago… So where was Lucy?

With a rather put upon sigh, Natsu got up, stretched, and walked towards the library, following her scent that was just beginning to fade. Happy flew over to land on his head as he left the main room of the guild.

"What are you doing, Natsu?" Happy said as he laid on Natsu's head.

"I'm going to find Lucy. She's been in the library forever," as Natsu finished his statement, they entered the library. Where they did not see Lucy and instead saw an open window, the curtain around it fluttering in the breeze.

Happy immediately worried as he felt Natsu freeze and just stare at the open window. The little blue cat could just imagine what Natsu was thinking as the two took in the scene.

"She left," Natsu finally said somewhat hollowly, what felt like hours later but was more than likely only a few moments later.

"How do you know that?" Happy asked, flying away from the top of Natsu's head to take in his expression. The little feline grimaced as he looked at his friend; Natsu looked like he might as well be dead since his face was utterly expressionless. It was just flat and cold and so…un-Natsu-like. Happy wasn't scared to admit it frightened him a little.

"Hers is the only scent here. Levy's is older and more faded, and I know Levy left with her team hours ago," Natsu said, his voice still sounding dead.

"I'm sure we are missing something about this whole situation," Happy said somewhat desperately, "I'll go get Erza. She'll know what to do," and with that he flew back out of the library to the main room of the guild.

Natsu just stood there, staring at the open window and feeling a little lost. Lucy had promised she wouldn't leave him. She had promised when he had found her that she wouldn't leave him again. So why would she leave?

"Natsu?" the pink-haired man startled when he heard his name, called out softly by Erza.

"She left," Natsu told the Valkyrie as he turned to face her, feeling as though his heart might just be ripping out of his chest as the words left his mouth. Somewhat surprisingly, Gray was also standing beside her, but Natsu didn't really even register his presence.

"I'm sure we don't have the full story," Erza told him seriously. "We should look around for clues; maybe she left a note."

Natsu nodded woodenly and just started walking around the room aimlessly. He didn't know what kind of clues he should be looking for, anyway. Then he found a table where Lucy's scent was a bit more concentrated. And on it he saw the map of the forest where he had first found her.

"She went home," Natsu said, loud enough for the others to hear him. He wasn't quite sure how he knew, but he knew that's where she went. Lucy had left him to go back to her father, who was the one responsible for her being kidnapped and hurt so severely. It felt like his brain might explode as he tried to imagine any possible reason why she would do that.

"Natsu how could you possibly know that?" Gray asked as everyone came to join the dragon shifter at the table. Each of them looked down at the map in confusion, not having Natsu's understanding of why that particular area was significant.

"I don't know," Natsu replied with a shrug, although he seemed much more animated than before.

"You don't have to understand how you know," Erza said, her thoughts rather far from the actual situation, "When you and another person share such a strong connection, you just know these things." Gray seemed to take that under advisement and nodded seriously.

"So what are we going to do?" Happy asked as he looked each of his friends over.

"Well we're going to go get her of course," Erza said imperiously, shaking out of whatever reverie had taken over her.

"We are?" Natsu said, his tone hopeful and much more like himself.

"Yes, we are," Erza said with a determined smile. "We just need to follow your nose."

"Like a bloodhound…" Gray said under his breath, but fortunately for him Erza didn't hear. Natsu nodded enthusiastically as he pumped his fist into the air and started out of the library.

"We're going in a car, Natsu!" Gray called after the pink haired man as he followed hurriedly; he wasn't about to forget what happened last time he rode on Natsu's dragon form. Erza grinned at the two men's antics and was about to start after them when Happy stopped her with a question.

"Do you think we really will get her back?" the little blue cat asked unsurely. His little whiskers seemed to be drooping and Erza didn't like it.

"Of course we will get her back," she told him with a quick pat to his head, "And if her father tries to stop us…well let's just hope for his sake he doesn't." Happy grinned at that and then flew out of the room, leaving Erza alone with her own thoughts. As confident as she had sounded when speaking with Happy, she was concerned with what would happen if Jude did retaliate. Although Jude was vampiric royalty, Erza wasn't above any violence to make sure her friend Lucy was able to leave if she wished it. But she definitely didn't want to have to resort to that if they could avoid it.

"Erza are you coming?" Natsu roared impatiently from the front room, breaking her from her thoughts about how to diplomatically deal with Lucy's father. Startled, she hurried out of the library, leaving her thoughts behind as they all headed out to Natsu's car and left the guild.

* * *

Lucy stared at the door to her father's study for what felt like hours. Her maids had come back after her friends had all left and dressed her up in one of her fanciest outfits that Lucy despised. It was an elegant outfit, a full dress with ruffles and flowers and Lucy probably would have liked it if not for what it represented.

"You have to go in eventually, Lucy," she told herself. Where had all her courage gone? Where was the attitude that had guided her here? Her fearless want to protect her new Fairy Tail family? The need she had felt to confront her father?

"Are you a member of Fairy Tail or not?" she asked herself, feeling furious at both her father and herself. Fairy Tail had taken her in, had made her feel wanted and loved, had rescued her from her father's machinations, and yet here she was, standing on the outside of her father's study, too unsure of herself to enter.

Then, suddenly, her mind was filled with Natsu. His infectious grin, his surety in entering Phantom Lord's castle to find her, his want to rescue her, his fierce protectiveness of not just her but all of their Fairy Tail family, his loyalty, his devotion to their family, his strength of character…

"I am a member of Fairy Tail," Lucy said, suddenly more certain of herself than ever before, "I am the daughter of Layla Heartfilia, the greatest vampire queen this world has ever seen. I have the backing of my entire guild and of my celestial friends. They make me stronger than I have ever been and I will prove myself worthy of their friendship and loyalty." And with her own little pep talk, she finally found she had enough courage to reach out and knock on her father's door.

"You may enter," she heard her father's voice emanate from the room. Steeling her nerves one last time and taking a deep breath, she entered, unsure of what kind of reception she would receive but refusing to spend one more minute standing in that hallway.

"You've returned," Jude said, his voice monotone and not betraying his emotional state.

"I have," Lucy responded, her hands folded demurely in front of her body as she stood across from her father's desk. He remained seated, his face impassive.

"Clearly you have realized your error then."

"I realized I have made a mistake, yes," Lucy told him, keeping her voice calm and her expression neutral, despite the tremors she could feel in her tightly folded hands from her anger.

"Good. So we will contact Bora and his father immediately and see if we can fix this mess you have got us into…" Jude trailed off as Lucy cleared her throat and he looked at her impatiently.

"I believe you have misunderstood me, Father. I said I made a mistake, not that refusing Bora was that mistake."

"Excuse me?" Jude said, his eyebrows drawing together and down dangerously.

"I made a mistake, Father. I acknowledge this. My mistake was not telling you that I could not marry Bora. Or any man not of my choosing. I refuse to let you try to live my life for me," Lucy finished, her voice rising a bit as she finished and some color rising in her cheeks.

"You ungrateful, little…" but Lucy never let him finish as she watched the fury and color rising in his own face.

"You do not control me. You do not live my life for me. You do not make my decisions for me. I am a grown woman; I am no longer a child! Mother _never_ would have wanted this for me and I am appalled at you that you do! We may be royalty, Father, but that does not mean I have no say in my life! Or that you have a right to make decisions for me! I am no longer your princess, Father, and I never will be again," Lucy told him passionately, finally abandoning her calm demeanor.

"How dare you speak to me like that! I am not just your father; I am your king! You will listen to me and do as I say!" Jude roared as he stood up from behind his desk, trying to tower over Lucy in his rage. But Lucy was done taking orders from her father, just as she had told him.

"You are no longer my king! I am a member of Fairy Tail! And if you _ever_ send someone to hurt my family again, I will destroy this place. I will destroy _everything_ you have spent my whole life ignoring me to build. I refuse to let you order me around. I never wanted this life and I will never live it again!" Lucy screamed as she dramatically adopted her true form, ripping her dress in the process.

For once, Jude seemed to be completely shocked and at a loss for words. Breathing heavily, Lucy turned her back on her father and walked out of his study, knowing she would not ever return here again. Slowly Lucy walked back to her own bedroom, looking at the mansion with what seemed like new eyes. She suddenly saw the mansion and all its decadence for what it was; the crumbling remains of her father's empire and the materialism that came with it. How she hated it.

"Lucy?" Lucy turned from where she had dressed in her normal clothes and set aside the few things she wanted to take from this place. She saw all of her staff standing there with tears in their eyes; they knew, too, that she would never return. With a small sob, she threw her arms around each person individually, hugging them for all she was worth and trying to convey to them everything they had meant to her. They seemed to understand and hugged her back just as hard.

Before she knew it, Lucy was standing before her mother's grave, wishing desperately that Layla was still with her. Would she approve of what she had done? What she had said to her father? Somehow Lucy felt like she would, but at the same time, she wondered if she ever would have been put in that situation if Layla had lived.

"I miss you, Mama," Lucy said as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I wish you could meet all my new friends, my new family. I think you would really love Fairy Tail. I'll still come visit you, I promise. I love you," Lucy's voice broke on her last statement, and knowing she would stay for hours longer than she should if she didn't leave right then, she turned from her mother's grave and began walking down the road back to Fairy Tail.

When Lucy had made it some distance away from her father's mansion, she heard her name being shouted. Startled, she looked up from watching her own feet to find Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Happy rushing towards her, what sounded like an idling car in the background.

"Lucy!" Natsu cried as she started running towards him too. In moments, the two of them were together again, wrapped in each other's arms as their friends laughed at their antics before joining them in a group hug.

"I can't believe you're all here!" Lucy said as she gripped Natsu's waist harder, burying her face in the scarf at his neck as her other friends hugged them, too.

"We thought you had left us forever, Lucy!" Happy cried from on top of Natsu's head. That broke her from her reverie.

"I told you I would never leave, Natsu," she said, her voice somewhat reproachful. Natsu looked at her sheepishly as their friends released them with laughs.

"I told you we didn't have the whole story, Natsu," Erza said in a very sisterly manner. He just shrugged and pulled Lucy into his side as he turned to walk back to the car.

"Jumping to conclusions as always, Natsu," Gray said with a chuckle as Happy flew over to land on top of his head. Natsu just grimaced at the frost giant as the girls laughed.

"Don't be afraid, Natsu," Lucy said, quietly and only to him as they reached the car, "I won't ever leave." Natsu smiled at that as he opened the passenger side door for her.

"Let's go home, Lucy," he told her. She smiled in response and nodded her head as she sat down in the car. It felt great to be surrounded by people who cared so deeply for her and she was looking forward to the many adventures she knew they would be having.

"Let's," she responded as the others joined them and they turned around, making their way back to Fairy Tail and the rest of their family.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** So a little under or over four months is apparently what it takes for me to update any of my stories! I am SO sorry to everyone who has been waiting for this chapter. My only excuse it that I've been working, found out I'm having a baby, my husband and I are buying a house, and I really haven't felt like writing to be brutally honest lol. So because I've been super busy and have been not really feeling like writing, I am going to stop this story here for now. I am going to label it as complete. This does not mean I'm actually done writing this story because I really do love it so much, but in the future I'll write an arc completely before I publish any chapters; in this manner I'm hoping people won't be waiting for more that isn't coming in a timely manner. I am going to finish my speed dating story as well; I'm hoping to have the rest of that written by the end of February at the latest so that can be complete too. Thank you to everyone who has read this story and reviewed it; it's still awesome to see positive responses so long after I originally published this story! As always, I own nothing of the characters, just the idea behind this particular story.


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